Anime Is Japan’s Next Global Champion

Move over, Marvel. The next blockbuster entertainment franchise might come from Japan.

Anime is shaping up as the country’s next big export industry, beyond cars and electronics. This once-niche entertainment form is entering the worldwide mainstream , and its growth could light up investors’ portfolios.

The global market for Japanese animation, known as anime, and its related products has more than doubled between 2012 and 2022 to 2.9 trillion yen, equivalent to $20 billion, according to the Association of Japanese Animations. The overseas market has been driving that growth. Markets outside of Japan made up around half of the total in 2022, compared with around 18% a decade earlier.

Streaming companies such as Netflix are certainly taking notice. Its live-action series “One Piece,” based on a Japanese comic, was its most-watched show in the second half of 2023. In fact, anime content on Netflix in the period logged 14% viewing growth from the first half of 2023, compared with a 4% drop overall, according to Jefferies. These streaming platforms will continue to introduce more anime-related content to their global audiences.

Japan’s anime and manga, the Japanese word for comics, have created many well-known characters and franchises over the years, such as Pokémon. And it looks to be getting even more mainstream. The anime market in North America has grown from $1.6 billion in 2018 to $4 billion this year, according to Jefferies. And Asia, which has long been more receptive to anime, will likely continue to grow strongly, especially in China. Anime has also been popular on Chinese streaming platforms such as Bilibili .

Apart from streaming, selling merchandise can be even more lucrative. Sanrio , which owns characters like Hello Kitty , has reported record profits, with its share price rising nearly sixfold over the past five years.

Sony would be another major beneficiary of this trend . The company owns animation streaming service Crunchyroll, which had 15 million subscribers as of June. That compared with around 3 million subscribers when Sony announced the acquisition of the streaming service from AT&T for nearly $1.2 billion in 2020. This contrasts with Sony’s approach in online streaming for other content: It acts more like an “arms dealer,” selling movies and shows to platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.com . That means the company could benefit more directly from the anime boom. And anime also has strong synergies with its movie and game businesses .

Anime maker Toei Animation, which owns popular franchises such as “One Piece” and “Dragon Ball,” is another listed company that would benefit. It makes anime itself, but more important for the overseas markets, it also earns licensing revenue from the copyrights to popular franchises that it owns. Sales outside of Japan accounted for more than half of its total revenue in the latest fiscal year ended in March. Season two for Netflix’s “One Piece” is already in production. Toei stock has nearly tripled since the end of 2019.

Anime has blockbuster potential, not just for audiences but for investors as well.

Australian social circles are shrinking as more people look for ways to keep a lid on spending, a new survey has found.

New research from Finder found more than one fifth of respondents had dropped a friend or reduced their social circle because they were unable to afford the same levels of social activity. The survey questioned 1,041 people about how increasing concerns about affordability were affecting their social lives. The results showed 6 percent had cut ties with a friend, 16 percent were going out with fewer people and 26 percent were going to fewer events.

Expensive events such as hens’ parties and weddings were among the activities people were looking to avoid, indicating younger people were those most feeling the brunt of cost of living pressures. According to Canstar, the average cost of a wedding in NSW was between $37,108 to $41,245 and marginally lower in Victoria at $36, 358 to $37,430.

But not all age groups are curbing their social circle. While the survey found that 10 percent of Gen Z respondents had cut off a friend, only 2 percent of Baby Boomers had done similar.

Money expert at Finder, Rebecca Pike, said many had no choice but to prioritise necessities like bills over discretionary activities.

“Unfortunately, for some, social activities have become a luxury they can no longer afford,” she said.

Anime Is Japan’s Next Global Champion

As Japanese animation and comics go global, opportunities abound for investors

More than one fifth of Australians are cutting back on the number of people they socialise with