New Anime Report Showcases the Medium's Meteoric Rise in 2020

With series such as Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia, One Piece, Demon Slayer, and JoJo's Bizarre [...]

By Evan Valentine

With series such as Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia, One Piece, Demon Slayer, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure gaining more steam over the years in North America, it's definitely no surprise to see that the medium of anime has grown wildly among fans in the West, as a recently released report from news outlet, Bloomberg, reports. With last year seeing the coronavirus pandemic effectively making a number of mundane activities now impossible, it seems as if anime communities in North America have gone all-in when it comes to the medium and chowing down on the various series currently out there.

In the report, it states that interest in anime, in general, has risen thirty-three percent in North America since this time last year, with this rise in interest being attributed to COVID-19 and the ever-expanding roster of series that the anime world has accumulated. On top of anime, a general interest in live-action series from Japan, including the likes of Terrace House and Alice In Borderland to name a few. With Demon Slayer's release into theaters in the West resulting in over forty million dollars of new profits netted for the anime blockbuster, it's clear that the demand for anime in the West isn't slowing down any time soon.

Bloomberg revealed a new percentage chart that shows that North America is most interested in media projects from Japan, animated or otherwise, than any other foreign country to media consumers in the West, with Japan netting over thirty percent of interest in the world of international media:

Bloomberg
(Photo: Bloomberg)

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, as mentioned earlier, has already netted hundreds of millions of dollars before even hitting North American theaters, with the latest adventure for Tanjiro and his friends becoming the biggest movie to ever be released in Japan. While the film isn't hitting the same heights in North America, it still shattered plenty of records, specifically with it managing to defeat Mortal Kombat in theaters during its second weekend in release.

While the rise in interest in anime and Japanese live-action projects isn't entirely confirmed, the report states that "Demand for live-action Japanese shows is being fueled by people looking for more programming after becoming familiar with anime,"

What do you think of the West wanting more anime and live-action projects from Japan? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

Via Bloomberg

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