TOKYO: The global market for Japanese anime expanded 13% to an all-time high of ¥2.74 trillion (US$20 billion at current rates) last year, thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix and fans eager to spend on merchandise for franchises like Pokemon and “Demon Slayer”.
Japan itself drove most of the growth, with a 21% rise to ¥1.43 trillion, according to a report by the Association of Japanese Animations. Content distribution – television, theatrical movies, DVD and other video, and streaming – grew 33% to a total of ¥371.3 billion.
Streaming was a particular standout, surging roughly 70% to ¥154.3 billion, as consumers stuck with viewing habits established during the stay-at-home period of the pandemic. Viewers flocked to series based on popular manga, such as “Demon Slayer”, “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “Tokyo Revengers”.
The movie market grew 9% to ¥60.2 billion, with anime accounting for more than a third of box-office earnings for the year. “Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time”, part of the long-running “Evangelion” franchise, was Japan’s highest-grossing movie in 2021, including live-action titles. “Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet” and “Belle” (“Ryu to Sobakasu no Hime”) were also high in the rankings.
The TV segment came in at ¥90.6 billion, up 8% from 2020 but down 4% from the pre-pandemic level of 2019, as streaming continued to supplant a medium that had been the industry’s bread and butter.
Merchandising rose 14% to ¥663.1 billion, with “Demon Slayer” tie-ins still going strong and Pokemon fans snapping up products commemorating the franchise’s 25th anniversary.
Meanwhile, the anime market outside Japan grew 6%, a marked slowdown from the double-digit growth of the 2010s.
“The development of the Japanese anime business overseas has been limited to just the animation itself,” said Yuji Mori, a PwC Japan partner with expertise in the field. The industry needs to seek more business opportunities across different media, like merchandise, video games and events, he argued.
Industry researcher Hiromichi Masuda, who compiled the market survey, warned that “the anime market is steady, but that doesn’t necessarily mean its future is bright”.
Streaming platforms have contributed to its expansion with their willingness to pay generously for original content, but that momentum has been fading. Such trends as Netflix’s subscriber base plateauing raise questions about the sustainability of growth in the segment.
The industry, which has hopped from VHS tapes to DVDs to streaming since the 1980s, may need a fresh growth driver. “We’re keeping an eye on metaverse business development,” Masuda said.
