Mr.Children has released their 16th original album, "SENSE", on December 1st, and it topped the Oricon album ranking for December 13th with sales of 502,000 copies in the first week. �This is the 13th time that Mr.Children has topped the Oricon album chart, and the 8th album in a row that they have accomplished this feat.

"SENSE" was released two years after they last released an original album, "SUPERMARKET FANTASY", in December 2008. �The announcement of this album was made on October 1st, however, no details for the album (such as the title, track list, cover jacket) were revealed until two days before the release.

Mr.Children has been selling over a million copies for five albums in a row now, ever since they released "IT�S A WONDERFUL WORLD" back in May 2002. �The expectation is that they will easily surpass a million sold for this album as well, and judging by the first week sale numbers, it seems like it'll happen sooner than later.

Source & Image: Oricon Style