Anime Annual Report Unpacks the Industry's Recent Global Wave

It turns out anime really is getting bigger than ever around the world!

By Nick Valdez

Anime fans might have noticed how manga and anime adaptations have been increasing in widespread popularity and reach in the last few years, and a new report has confirmed just how big the medium has become between 2022 and 2023! An annual report from The Association of Japanese Animations has catalogued how the industry had performed in 2023, and noted that following the COVID-19 pandemic the industry is back on track to having higher amounts of annual growth each year. That includes internationally, but they also state that it's time for the industry to take note of how long this continued growth can feasibly continue. 

The Association of Japanese Animations' report notes that while the industry continues to break annual growth records each year (with 2020 being an outlier, and a noted bounce back beginning in 2021), the "primary factor" for the growth in the industry was the international market. It had gotten to the point that there was a theory that international market would reverse with the domestic earnings, but earnings in Japan "exceeded the international market by 9.3 billion yen."

the-boy-and-the-heron-studio-ghibli-poster.jpg
(Photo: Studio Ghibli)

Anime Continues to Grow 

According to the report, the international market takes up half of the overall profit through television, movies, streaming and more, and is reassuring for Japan to see the market continue to grow and thus shows the potential of the anime industry. Another great advancement for Japan is the shift in Hollywood animation since the onset of COVID-19. Disney and Pixar's films aren't as huge of box office draws as they used to be, and the report calls out releases like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Boy and the Heron (which even won an Academy Award), Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and Jujutsu Kaisen 0 as films that shake up the global anime recognition. 

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But importantly, the report continues to emphasize that the anime industry continues to grow following its bounce back from COVID-19 in 2021.The international market reached 1.5 trillion yen (nearly half of the market share) with merchandising, entertainment, streaming, movie, and other aspects of the production all growing in tandem. The report from The Association of Japanese Animations reveals that both production costs and profits continue to grow around the world, but it's a balance that the anime industry has to keep an eye on. 

How do you feel about anime's growth around the world in the last few years? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! 

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