How Japanese Anime Became the Most Profitable Genre in the World –

The corovirus pandemic has made many surprising appearances for the global film and television business. One of the most curious new facts is that Japanese anime may be the most popular form of entertainment in the world against COVID.

During the 2020 pandemic lockdown, when total US box office sales dropped by 80% and the Japanese theater market shrank by 45%, Japan’s total anime industry shrank by just 3.5%, with a total market cap of around US$ 21.3 billion. 2.4 trillion yen). In the same difficult year, the anime business also created its biggest theatrical success of all time: Demon Killer Movie: Mugen TrainThe action-packed fantasy, which grossed nearly $48 million in North America, $365 million in Japan and $504 million worldwide, became the biggest theatrical box office hit of 2020 (surpassing the Chinese war). Eight hundred, which received $461 million in its own market). And the huge revenue from the anime continued. The top three titles of 2021 at the Japanese box office were all anime hits; s Kaizen Jujutsu 0The dark fantasy anime based on the Gega Akutami manga series of the same name grossed $106 million earlier this year, as well as $34 million in North America and $187 million worldwide.

According to consultancy Parrot Analytics, global demand for anime content has grown by 118% in the last two years, making it one of the fastest growing content genres during the pandemic (demand metrics are measured by the company by combining consumption data with social media activity, social video, and independent research).

“Even during the pandemic, the anime market was still growing,” Kana Koido, a partner at Japanese independent distributor The Klockworx, said during a recent panel discussion at the Far Eastern Film Festival. “Japan is a unique market, although total cash registers in 2020 were almost half of 2019, this rare content performed better than ever before.”

Those involved in the Japanese anime industry say the precursors were created over the years at the time of this boom. According to the Japan Animation Association, in the decade before the pandemic, from 2009 to 2019, the Japanese anime industry doubled its total market value to $22.1 billion.

The main force for such growth has been the broad demographic assimilation of anime culture, both in Japan and among consumers virtually everywhere. Once alone in Otaku Prefecture, big Japanese fans of anime and manga, formerly stereotyped as socially awkward, too immersed in their fantasy world to not participate in “normal society”, anime is already far from a niche subculture. very banal. It turns out that, suddenly, the mainstream community has embraced this as the next big thing.

“In the last five to 10 years, there has been almost a revival of anime in Japan and the West. says Joseph Tecuro Bissinger, a 27-year-old anime influencer who goes by the name Joy anime man on YouTube, where his channel has grown to 3.2 million subscribers over the past decade. “That’s the movement the game went through in the 1990s, where when you played it, you were a sucker until suddenly everybody was playing. That’s why anime movies become such a big thing. These aren’t just a few intelligent ones of your kind who will see [the latest anime release] – Now the whole gang is leaving.

Bissinger adds, “And I think that’s the main reason streaming sites are trying to get as much anime out of them as possible, because they see a lot of potential in it right now.”

At the AnimeJapan convention in Tokyo in March, Netflix revealed that it will release 40 new anime in 2022 alone, covering a growing range of genres. The streamer typically had data to justify the expansion: by 2021, more than half of Netflix subscribers worldwide will still be watching anime content on the platform.

Other platforms report the same findings.

“We’re seeing more and more appetite for anime in every demo, in every country,” said Gaku Narita, executive director of original content for Japan at Walt Disney Co., which is also growing exponentially. Original and licensed anime titles on Disney+. “It is increasingly becoming an unlimited form of mass entertainment.”

But the anime also still works with its unique logic. The separation of anime theaters revenue from most studios has intensified, rather than undermined, the streaming revolution, which continues to increase the availability and awareness of key titles, shortening the cycle between anime television series. Spin-off movies that are usually followed in theaters. And the anime’s strong fan culture and similar nature of its launch events seem almost suited to a time when the theatrical model more than ever needs to emphasize the benefits of in-person community experience.

“The atmosphere of going to the movies is very different from watching a regular Hollywood movie,” said Asa Suehira, anime director at Crunchyroll, which has shaped US anime audiences over the years by filming Japanese television. Releases are instantly available via simulcast. “People cosplay, yell at people when their favorite character appears on screen, or sing along to the songs,” she explains. “It’s really more of an event than just seeing a movie.”

The anime boom era spawned a predictable wave of consolidation and deals in the industry. Last year, Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired Crunchyroll, one of the biggest anime streamers in the US, for $1.2 billion from AT&T. The Japanese conglomerate has since merged Crunchyroll with Funimation, an anime streaming service it already owns, to create the largest niche platform dedicated to the subculture. AMC Networks was followed in January by the acquisition of Houston-based Sentai Holdings, a global provider of anime content and products known for its popular anime-centric streaming service, HIDIVE. Meanwhile, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video also continue to expand their anime offerings, while HBO Max, which has yet to launch in Asia, is known for implementing licensing deals.

Anime also appears to be immune to the recent reassessment of the streaming business model, at least not yet. Netflix’s disappointing financial results in the first quarter, which saw Streamer’s first subscriber drop in a decade and a 25% share price drop, only increased the value of the anime.

While Netflix cuts spending on a lot of content in most areas, it will likely spend more on anime. The US and European markets are believed to be completely saturated for Netflix, but Asia Pacific is the only region where Streamer still has room to grow, and it is the part of the world that watches the most anime. When subscribers stopped or dropped almost everywhere in the last quarter, Netflix added 1.1 million Asian subscribers. And as the world’s third largest economy, especially Japan, it is a vital growth area. Only 5 million of Japan’s 121 million people subscribe to Netflix, but those who do will watch anime in 2021, Streamer recently reported.

A similar logic applies to Hollywood and other Silicon Valley streamers now looking to grow in the region.

Unsurprisingly, as in many other areas of today’s economy, global demand has driven up prices for the limited supply of major anime subtitles and production partners.

“The capital outflow is not a big deal given the relatively small size of the industry and the number of people who work in it and paint the frames for these shows,” said Kohei, Netflix’s anime creative director. Obara. “It’s not like we can instantly have two or three times as much, just because there’s money.”

According to Obara, there are only around 5,000 anime artists and creators working in Japan today, a number that shows how deeply Japan’s creative community transcends globally. (America probably has thousands more, along with Disney Pixar – Just one of Hollywood’s animation giants employs over 1,200 people).

However, the cascade of foreign investment has also brought benefits. Despite its central importance to Japan’s popular identity, the anime industry has always had a darker side: studios known for demanding hours, low benefits, and a workforce that many employers considered at once. Companies that violate Japanese labor laws in this way are called buraku kigioThat is, the “black corporations” and the world of Tokyo anime were already known to them.

“If you take a picture at some point, you’ll still see some of the old-fashioned ‘black’ conditions that exist throughout the industry,” Disney Narita said. “But overall, the capital inflows brought a lot of positive changes. It’s not just the elect who get rich; “Artists on the ground are starting to make decent money.”

The boom should also bring exciting events to fans, as well as making titles easier to access. The production budget for premium anime projects has been increased by a year and a half.

Three times, experts say. And with the growing demand for their talents, top anime artists are experiencing more creative freedom than ever before.

“There are more and more distribution opportunities and options, which has really increased the production budget,” adds Genk Kawamura, one of the best-known anime producers who regularly works with renowned artists like Mamoru Hosoda (look), Makoto Shinkai (Your name) and Tetsurou Araki (Netflix’s latest anime, Bubble). “It means more than we can creatively express, which is really wonderful.”