Bandai Namco has been the premiere spot for some of the biggest anime merchandise in recent years. With several anime franchises taking the opportunity to create a wide variety of merchandise from statues, action figures, plastic models, and many other items, the company has revealed what two anime properties have risen to the top. Dragon Ball and Mobile Suit: Gundam have become the top merchandise sellers for Bandai Namco in 2022, with the two franchises selling different styles of merch for very different stories in their respective repertoires.
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The Dragon Ball franchise took the top spot when it came to merchandise sold, pulling in over $1 billion USD for the year 2022, which most likely can be attributed to the release of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. For some time, since the conclusion of the Dragon Ball Super anime series, the Z-Fighters’ presence hasn’t been as strong in years when there isn’t a new animated project released. While Toei Animation has yet to confirm when we can expect the television series to return, the creators behind Super Hero have confirmed that preliminary work has already started on the next movie of the franchise. Details regarding Super Hero’s follow-up are few and far between at this point.
Gundam’s Legs
Mobile Suit: Gundam has seen a major uptick in sales thanks predominantly to the newest anime series, Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. Introducing the first female protagonist of the anime franchise, Gundam plastic models, aka Gunplas, has seen a massive surge in sales. Creating the story to appeal directly to younger audiences, the Gundam franchise pulled in around $944 million USD.
The third highest-selling property was One Piece, the shonen series focusing on Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirates, which brought in over $620 million USD. Surprisingly, the series saw an increase in sales of 95 percent year-over-year. Most likely, this can be partly attributed to the release of One Piece: Film Red, which became the highest-grossing movie in the franchise’s history. Following the Straw Hats’ success, the highest-selling franchises for Bandai Namco were Kamen Rider, Ultraman, Naruto, Anpanman, Super Sentai, and Pretty Cure in that order.
Do you think Dragon Ball will remain on the top for 2023? Can Gundam top its sales from last year? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Bandai.
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