I think both Medaka and Akaboshi only got about 20000 copies on their first edition.
Kuroko's first anniversary will be issue 2. Don't forget that Psyren's second anniversary is coming up too!
so i'm guessing 1st prints were all sold out?
Yeah, it is said that their 2nd prints are going to be selling on I think this week.
totally right
I hope there'll be a new popularity poll, or at least a decent cover page in colours (last was... creepy? 
)
Where did these figures come from?
P2 managed its year without massive help. We can't say the same about Kuroko. But if it suddenly dropped off after a year I wouldn't complain. I actually wouldn't mind another sports series if its written better and actually lives longer than a year.
But... it's selling a lot less than it should. If a new sports series happens to gain more popularity than it has now, it'll become just as susceptible to be axed after a few weeks in the bottom as any other series. Hell, Jump has cancelled stuff that sold way better than Kuroko in the past.
What should a new sports series be selling?
I'm just guessing the numbers. It is reported that Medaka's and Akaboshi's first edition are sold out in one week and they aren't in top 30 of oricon ranking, so I guessed that their first copy might be around 20000.
Where did you get the idea that Kuroko is selling less? Kuroko's sales are increasing pretty fast, and there is high probability that Kuroko going to be in top 10 on its fourth volume, and going to reach 100,000 tank sales. Also, which series are you talking about that it sold better than Kuroko and got axed?
A new sports series? Dunno. A new series that gets color every three chapters and - according to what some posters have said numerous times here - is much more advertised than the others? More than it has sold so far. At the very least, as much as Beelzebub or Toriko. Last time I checked, volume 2 of Kuroko sold just a little bit over Psyren's last volume. And for a series that gets that much support from the editors and exposition, selling just a bit over the second worst seller in the mag is far from what I'd call satisfactory - or rather, what I'd call enough to save its ass no matter what.
Exactly what you said. I think Kuroko become solid enough to safe from cancelation now. I'm still not sure whether Kuroko can be big as Prince of Tennis or Eyeshield 21, but I'm 100% confidence that Kuroko can be big as Whistle! or Mr.Fullswing.
Darker? What the...? What exactly is dark about Kuroko?
cause its Kuro(black)-ko
I read Kuroko. No need to worry about spoilers. And it's precisely because I read it that I can say it's hardly what I'd call a "darker" sports series.
Uh... Kagami is exactly the way you described. As is pretty much every other character. I mean, Kuroko himself is the only one that could make the manga stand out in some way, but everyone else is so generic and devoid of any remarkable personality traits all the impact his supposedly "dark" personality could have is simply lost. But I guess I'd better stop now, before this turns into a completely offtopic discussion.