It’s hard to deny that anime continues growing in popularity each passing year. The pandemic in recent years helped propel sales of anime and manga in Japan and in the world at large, and some big players are continuing to take notice. Warner Bros for example stated this year that it was aiming to invest more in the anime world, with Suicide Squad Isekai being a major example of that as the anime adaptation plans to land this week. In a shocking move, a major investment firm has decided to bet big on the continuing popularity of the manga medium with a big cash infusion.
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Blackstone, one of the biggest investment firms in the world, has invested $1.7 billion USD into Infocom, the company that owns “Mecha Comics”. Mecha Comics, for those who might not be familiar with the website, offers readers the opportunity to check out manga series for a small price. Blackstone is now the majority stakeholder in the company, showing just how far manga has come in a short amount of time. In a new statement, Blackstone’s Japan head of Private Equity stated, “The more original content we have, we can monetize that intellectual property over time. We can create animation or merchandising around that, which is going to be the potential opportunity in the midterm.”
The Manga Game is Only Getting Bigger
Infocom’s President and Chief Executive Officer Jun Kuroda stated the following regarding the deal, “Infocom’s robust e-comics business is the driving force behind our growth, and our IT services business for hospitals and general companies is also working to expand the services we provide and strengthen our customer base. We are confident that Blackstone’s investment track record, outstanding data analysis capabilities, and track record of alliance with a variety of companies will be a major source of strength for our group’s medium- to long-term growth.”
Of the many ways that anime is continuing to gain traction in North America, one of the biggest has been live-action adaptations from various outlets. With season two of One Piece in the works at Netflix and a Naruto live-action film in the works, anime fans are left wondering what other series might get live-action projects of their own in the West.
Want to see how big the anime world grows in the future? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook for all the latest updates on the popularity of anime and manga.
