Anime Market Analysis Report By Type, By Region And Segment Forecasts From 2019 To 2025

Industry Insights

The global anime market size was worth USD 20.47 billion in 2018. It is projected to witness an 8.8% CAGR over the forecast period, 2019 to 2025. Anime is also called Japanimation as if offers Japanese-inspired content. The increasing popularity of anime in Japan and across the world is attributing to the growth of the market. In addition, technical advancements and diversified funding in film production are augmenting the market growth.

The growing popularity of computer and hand-drawn animation is gaining traction across the world, which, in turn, driving anime popularity. Various stakeholders such as developers, publishers, artists, creative agencies, and animators play a key role in the development of the market. Moreover, the anime industry is consistent in its distribution media and distribute its products through movies, videos, music, pachinko machines, and TV among others.

Further, due to the significant growth of various distribution channels such as Amazon, Daisuki, Netflix, and Crunchyroll, Japanese anime is gaining traction across the globe and creating a new user base. The emergence of live streaming through the internet has resulted in a wide distribution of anime across the globe. The internet has become a reliable and wide-reached source of distribution.

Overseas businesses derive from internet distribution, video software licensing, film rights, and TV broadcasting among others. Considering the growing demand from overseas, vendors are increasingly producing customized content. Although Japanese anime is witnessing significant demand, its domestic demand has reached a saturation level. The market has seen some inferior quality work, which is adversely affecting its growth.

In addition, the shortage of anime artists owing to the long working duration and low pay is hampering the market growth. While it may take over an hour to make a single piece of drawing, anime artists are paid sometimes less than USD 2 for a single drawing. Thus, earning is not encouraging skilled workers to follow their passion. 

Type Insights

Depending on the type, the anime market is categorized into movie, TV, music, internet distribution, live entertainment, music, and merchandising. In 2018, the merchandising category accounted for the largest share in the market. Various merchandise includes key chains, dolls, t-shirts, posters, and others are sold through both offline and online channels. In the recent past, there has been a shift towards the digital format of anime products. This is estimated to adversely affect its demand. Therefore, vendors are required to develop a more enhanced solution to cater to the need of consumers.

Besides, the internet distribution category is likely to witness significant growth over the forecast period, primarily because of increasing distribution through online platforms due to rising global consumption. Key market players such as AbemaTV and Netflix are focusing on the development of authentic animations to acquire a larger share in the market. For example, Netflix collaborated with Production I.G, Inc. and Anima Inc. to develop innovative anime content named Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 and Resleeved respectively.

Regional Insights

In 2018, Japan accounted for the largest share in the market owing to the presence of several animation studios. There are 622 animation studios in Japan with a whopping 542 of them in Tokyo alone. Although a large number of anime studio is based in Japan, the world is witnessing significant growth in the number of studios.

The rapidly growing anime popularity in China is a factor driving the growth of the Asia Pacific region. Japan has developed anime content on commission from China along with developing powerful content like Dragon Ball for the Asia Pacific excluding Japan. Moreover, China is planning to bring regulatory guidelines to protect its own anime industry, this, in turn, is estimated to adversely affect Japanese anime growth while fueling China’s market demand.

Impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected the anime market growth. Following the pandemic outbreak, not only the production of anime has taken a hit but also streaming has been delayed indefinitely. The new series of “Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet” was all set for its release on 17th April. However, producers planned to delay its release, which severely affected their earning as the last two Canon films generated a huge response. On the other hand, internet distribution has surged in the last few months, leading to moderate growth of the market. For example, Netflix is streaming Violet Evergarden: The Movie, 13-episode series.

Anime Market Share Insights

Major market players are Kyoto Animation Co., Ltd, P.A.Works, Inc., Production I.G, Toei Animation Co., Ltd, Manglobe Inc., Pierrot Co., Ltd, Madhouse Inc., and Bones Inc. among others. These market players are mostly engaged in scriptwriting, direction, background, production, shooting, editing, and special effects. The use of innovative technologies has become the new norm in the industry. The easy availability of animation software has resulted in high competition among vendors.

Market players are adopting various strategic initiatives such as partnerships, new product launches, acquisitions, and collaboration to consolidate their position in the market. For example, three leading animation studios named Sublimation, David Production, and Anima collaborated with Netflix Inc. to stream exclusive content.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels, and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Million Insights has segmented the global anime market report based on type and region:

• Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)
     • T.V.
     • Movie
     • Video
     • Internet Distribution
     • Merchandising
     • Music
     • Pachinko
     • Live Entertainment

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)
     • North America
          • The U.S.
          • Canada
     • Europe
          • France
          • The U.K.
     • the Asia Pacific
          • Australia & New Zealand
          • China
          • Philippines
          • South Korea
     • Latin America
          • Mexico
     • Middle East & Africa
     • Japan