• Japan: domestic sales revenue of the anime industry

The domestic sales revenue of the animation industry in Japan amounted to about 1.19 trillion Japanese yen in 2020. While domestic sales decreased compared to the previous year, overseas sales continued to increase and overtook domestic sales for the first time. The combined value of the domestic and the overseas market amounted to approximately 2.43 trillion yen in 2020, which constituted a slight decrease from a record-setting 2.51 trillion yen in 2019.

A popular entertainment form

Animation is a popular medium of entertainment in Japan. The first successful television anime shows were broadcast for children in the 1960s. Throughout the decades, anime storylines became more complex and increasingly garnered popularity with adult audiences as well, both in Japan and overseas. Today, there exists a wide variety of genres, which makes the medium appealing for both mainstream and niche audiences. While works like “Akira” (1988), “Ghost in the Shell” (1995), or “Neon Genesis Evangelion” (1995-1996) pushed the artistic and storytelling boundaries of the medium, the movies of Studio Ghibli represent wholesome family entertainment. Although anime shows were initially broadcast for children, shows aimed at adult audiences have become more important to the industry in recent years, which can partly be explained by the ongoing demographic aging of Japan’s population. According to survey data, anime works were not only among the most popular TV genres among adult television viewers, but also part of the most popular paid video streaming genres.

The anime industry

The anime industry is a highly creative and visually distinctive media industry. Many companies are located in Japan’s capital city Tokyo, which represents the country’s most important media hub. Anime works are frequently produced by so-called production committees, which are constituted by different corporations specializing in a certain field of the anime-related business. While this form of cooperation reduces risk and enables specialization, the actual animation production companies often only receive a small proportion of the revenues generated from anime works. A segment breakdown of the sales revenue of the animation industry shows that merchandising is clearly the largest business within the domestic market. One growing segment in recent years was live entertainment, which included live performances, exhibitions, and cafe revenues, among others. Another segment that has gained increasing attention is the anime streaming business, as the international streaming market was booming in recent years and anime production companies have become increasingly demanded as content creators by major video streaming service platforms, such as Netflix.