Three TCG Titles Lead the Way; Here are a Few to Look Out for Going into the Holiday Season
This has undoubtedly been one of the hottest summers for TCGs based on anime and manga. These TCGs were already hot going into the end of 2025 (see “Big Growth in Hobby Games in 2025“), but somehow managed to gain even more momentum in Q2 and Q3 2026 as the Whatnot-style online flash auction craze swept over the land. With Logan Paul’s record sale of a Pikachu Illustrator card serving as the main steam engine of the hype train (see “Most Expensive Trading Card Ever Sold“), manga and anime TCGs have been on a rocket ride for the ages that led obscene numbers of TCG cards being graded (see “Shut Down Value Grading Tiers“).
The top anime and manga TCGs are easily identified by grading trends. Currently, there seems to be a Top Three in this category; two of which are obvious, the third isn’t so obvious. Pokemon TCG and One Piece CG are far and away the top two anime and manga-based TCGs. According to the Gemrate report, there are more Pikachu cards graded all-time than Michael Jordan and Ken Griffey Jr. cards combined (and Jordan and Griffey Jr. cards have been around over a decade longer). The number of Monkey D. Luffy cards, from One Piece CG, has passed the number of Aaron Judge cards graded all-time, and leads multiple Pokemon characters in cards graded.
The third big anime and manga-based TCG, based on grading reports, is actually Dragon Ball Super CG: Fusion World. There has suprisingly been a good deal of collector interest in this game; the number of Son of Goku cards graded is rising. A lot of the interest in this game stems from the sports card world, and may not necessarily translate over into the hobby gaming world (DBS may be a popular game in different regions in the U.S., but it is mostly a collector thing stateside).
Beyond the top three anime and manga-based TCGs, there are a few other hot TCG titles in this genre. Here are a few that are worth looking out for to order for Q3/Q4:
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: Magnificent Monsters. Lately, Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG has been lagging behind its competitors. However, this set has the potential to change Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG’s fortunes entirely because it contains the first-ever serialized cards for the game (see “Serial-Numbered Cards“). The game is still very popular with players, and the set could offer a big boost on the collector side of things.
UniVersus CCG: Fairy Tail Booster Set. Although there has been few details released on this upcoming UniVersus set since it was announced in 2025 (see “2026 ‘UniVersus CCG’ Lineup“), it is theoretically headed to market by the end of the year. UniVersus CCG releases are often touch and go based on the IP attached to the set, but there are lot of Fairy Tail fans out there and not too much done with the IP in the TCG world, other than a recent Weiss Schwarz set (see “‘Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest’“). UVS Games has a wide reach in U.S. markets, so this could be a good set.
Gundam CG: Raging Onslaught. Gundam CG has been a little luke warm, lately, but this game is probably going to heat up with Gundam Assemble miniatures game on its way to market (which has crossover products with the card game). The next Gundam CG set is Stardust Trails, which hits in October 2026.
For more ICv2 Manga Week – Fall 2026 coverage, click here.
Source: ICV2
