New Anime Report Reveals the Industry Grew 13% Over the Last Year

It’s no secret that 2022 has been one of the strongest years for anime in quite some time, and it turns out that the industry has actually been doing much better as a whole as a new report claims that the industry has grown 13% over this last year. In many ways, this year has felt like a bouncing back of sorts from all of the delays and production troubles caused by the onset of the ongoing COVID pandemic back in the Spring 2022 anime schedule. Not only have we seen an increase of overall volume, but potentially an increase of quality from production to production.

As the anime productions have increased in 2021, it seems like the overall health of the industry has improved as well according to a new report from the Association of Japanese Animations (as detailed by Anime News Network). Stating in their report that the wider anime industry at large (which includes everything from the anime itself, to merchandise, music sales, and more) grew by 13.3% in 2021 compared to 2020, with a total market value of about $19.76 billion USD. Also of note, that it’s the highest total market value since the AJA began tracking these numbers in 2002. 

How Has the Anime Industry Grown in 2021-2022? 

Continuing to note the rate of growth in 2021 compared to the much slower 2020, overseas market share only amounted to about $9.46 billion USD, which is a 5.97% increase from 2020’s about $10.89 billion USD. Making up for nearly 48% of the overall market, the industry’s market share seemed to bump up in Japan by comparison. While this report doesn’t take 2022 into account just yet, it is a sign of an upwards trajectory for the industry as whole. 

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Culturally it has felt like anime has had more of an impact since the global pandemic as not only has anime taken over the box office on a few occasions in the last few years, but many of the standout projects like Demon Slayer, Chainsaw Man, and more seem to be getting much more attention than they ever might have a couple of years ago. But how do you feel about how much has changed in the world of anime? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!

(h/t – ANN)