Japanese anime grips US audiences, with soaring demand fuelling a billion dollar market

NEW YORK: The demand for anime has been soaring in the United States, with the country believed to be the biggest market outside of Japan. 

The multi-billion dollar anime industry is expected to continue growing throughout the decade, with a major driver of that being demand in the US, analysts have predicted. 

In 2020, the global anime market was worth around US$22 billion, according to market research and consulting group Precedence Research. 

This is predicted to grow to about US$50 billion in 2030. 

COVID-19 FUELLED WAVE OF FANDOM

Industry watchers said the COVID-19 pandemic fueled a wave of anime fandom in the US over the past few years. This genre of Japanese animation became mainstream in Japan in the 1980s. 

“With Covid, all of us sitting at home watching Netflix, we didn’t want to watch The Office or Seinfeld for the 10th time,” Mr David Edmundson, director of marketing at Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America. 

“So we’re like, ‘Hey, let’s try this One Piece. It’s 1,100 episodes, it’s a little daunting but let’s just see what it’s about.’ And the show just hooks you.”

The accessibility to content on streaming platforms has also helped get more people on board.

In 2021, more than half of Netflix’s over 200 million subscribers watched anime in some capacity, according to the streaming platform. 

“The nice by-product of the streaming era is the ability to experience different types of storytelling,” said Professor Paul Hardart, director of the entertainment, media and technology programme at NYU Stern School of Business. 

DISCOVERING ANIME, MANGA

Observers said it has never been easier to discover anime or manga, a style of comic originating in Japan.

Many are confident that with so much content available, there is no shelf life to its popularity. 

Mr Jeff Ayers, who has been working at comic book store Forbidden Planet for nearly 30 years, said manga’s popularity comes in waves, but the selection available today is unparalleled.

When he started at the Manhattan outlet, items imported from Japan fit inside just one glass cabinet. 

Now, around a quarter of the store’s floor space is dedicated to manga and items related to the genre.

“There’s no jaded customer, because it’s very hard to do,” said Mr Ayers, general manager at Forbidden Planet.

“There’s such a wide selection of this stuff available right now.”