What is anime?
Anime is a style of animation originating from Japan, characterized by
colorful artwork, vibrant characters, and fantastical themes. It covers
a wide range of genres and appeals to various age groups, with stories
that often include elements of adventure, romance, science fiction, and
fantasy. Anime can be broadcast on television, streamed online, or
distributed as films and OVAs (original video animations). Notable
examples include Naruto, My Hero Academia, and Spirited Away.
Anime Timeline - From history to Global phenomenon
Hover over the components—bars, genres, and influences—to discover more details.
Why did global audience find anime appealing?
- Anime features expressive character designs with large eyes and vibrant backgrounds which makes it appealing .
- Anime often explores complex themes and diverse genres, including deep emotional and philosophical topics, and caters to various age groups. It addresses various issues & uses global narrative making it relatable for everyone. Genres like sci-fi, robots, battle were never explored by western animation before anime did.
- Anime spans various demographics, including shonen, shojo, seinen, and josei, breaking the stereotype that animation is only for kids. This makes their audience base larger.
How did anime influence the Western culture?
How much revenue did anime generate over the year?
Is it increasing?
Is it increasing?
The overseas anime market has been growing gradually since 2002. The
domestic market (plotted in black) also shows a gradual growth
throughout the years. The dip in international revenue comes in picture
when the Great Recession hit the global economies.
One of the most curious new facts to emerge is that Japanese anime might just be the world’s most COVID-resistant form of popular entertainment.
According to consultancy Parrot Analytics, global demand for anime content grew 118 percent over the past two years, making it one of the fastest-growing content genres throughout the pandemic .
Those who are tapped into Japan’s anime industry say the precursors for these boom times have been building for years. During the decade before the pandemic, from 2009 to 2019, Japan’s anime industry doubled in total market value to $22.1 billion, according to the Association of Japanese Animations.
One of the most curious new facts to emerge is that Japanese anime might just be the world’s most COVID-resistant form of popular entertainment.
According to consultancy Parrot Analytics, global demand for anime content grew 118 percent over the past two years, making it one of the fastest-growing content genres throughout the pandemic .
Those who are tapped into Japan’s anime industry say the precursors for these boom times have been building for years. During the decade before the pandemic, from 2009 to 2019, Japan’s anime industry doubled in total market value to $22.1 billion, according to the Association of Japanese Animations.
Fanbase
- An anime fan is known as Otaku which in Japanese means people with obsessive interests, including anime or manga. It was termed as offensive in late 1980s. But later, the fans themselves started using it in a positive light and today it is often used by those outside of the fandom to refer to fans of anime or manga
- More than 50% of fans are millenials.
- In the early days of the fandom, it was predominantly male, but now females make up half of the fanbase.
Anime conventions are immersive events celebrating anime through
cosplay, panels, and fan activities.
Following map shows the number of conventions happening all over the
world:
The above map shows how the fandom is spread out all over the world.