Anime and manga industry – in 10 charts

On November 3, 1928, Japanese artist and animator Osamu Tezuka, one of the founders of manga and anime, was born. What is the state of one of the largest entertainment industries in the world today – in the Kommersant infographic.

Global demand for anime content grew 118% in 2021-2022, making it one of the fastest-growing genres during the pandemic, according to consultancy Parrot Analytics. In 2022, the market is estimated to reach a record $20.6 billion. In total, the industry employs about 5 thousand people.

In Russia, anime has not gone beyond the subculture, but the name of Hayao Miyazaki is well known in the country. Three of the director’s films are among the highest-grossing anime films of all time, including his most famous film, Spirited Away, which grossed $383.9 million. Over the years, the genre has not lost its box office appeal: the film Nature’s Child, released in 2019, Makoto Shinkai brought in $192.9 million, while Demon Slayer: Infinity Train (2020) earned $507.1 million.

In 2020, the anime industry released its most successful project at the box office – Demon Slayer: Infinity Train, which became the largest release of the year in the world and grossed $507.1 million. In 2023, Hayao Miyazaka returned to the cinema, whose new film The Boy and the Bird” has already collected $56.2 million – the picture will be shown in domestic cinemas from December 7.

The anime film industry consists of films that are released in theaters, as well as series that are shown on TV, released on video media, and sold to streaming services. The latter have benefited the most from the pandemic, with the industry more than doubling in size since 2019. Netflix alone added over 40 anime projects to its platform in 2022.

The anime market is growing not only in Japan, but throughout the world. Interest in anime is forcing American companies to produce film adaptations, including Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop and others. One of the latest hits is the new Netflix series One Piece. Big Kush”, which in the first few days after its release took first place in views in 84 countries.

Anime is most popular in Asia, and is most in demand in China, with an audience of more than 370 million people. Among European countries, anime is most valued in France, where in the late 1990s the authorities tried to limit the distribution of anime products on television at the legislative level. The Eastern European market, which includes Russia, does not constitute a significant share of the world market – only 0.4%.

The US, Canada and China lead the way in the number of anime content licenses purchased. The top ten countries with the most anime also include the UK, Australia and South Korea. France, despite the popularity of anime, has licensed only 35 films and TV series, and is in 19th place. Russia has licensed no more than nine films and TV series and is not one of the leaders in consuming anime content.

There are three major manga publishers in Japan: Shueisha, Kodansha and Shogakukan. Founded in 1925, Shueisha has the most popular manga comics, including One Piece. Big Snatch” (published since 1997), “Naruto” (1994-2014) and “Bleach” (2001-2016). Kodansha owns the rights to Attack on Titan, which has sold 120 million copies, while Shogakukan publishes Golgo 13 and Detective Conan. On average, manga volumes sell millions of copies, which is unattainable for Western comics, which at best reach 100-200 thousand copies sold per issue.

In 2022, the most popular manga series were Magic Battle, Demon Slayers and Tokyo Avengers. “Attack on Titan” is also popular, the final season of the series is scheduled to end on November 5th.

Chart of the most popular manga series in 2022

The manga market has grown one and a half times since 2014, driven by increased demand for digital versions of products. Printed versions, in turn, are losing popularity; their sales have decreased by 1.6 times over the past ten years. Manga is popular all over the world. France is again among the main connoisseurs, where in 2021 over 55% of comics sold were manga.

Evgeniy Fedunenko