The global anime market is expected to grow from USD 28.35 billion in 2023 to USD 50.22 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 8.51% during the forecast period 2022-2030. The Asia Pacific region will dominate the global anime market in 2023 with a market share of 47.3%. Anime is created through hand-drawn images and digital animations, renowned for their roots in Japan. Once it achieved remarkable success within its birthplace, anime quickly caught on in other markets. In the context of this rapid popularity gain, a surge of investments in technological advancements helped fuel the industry's growth exponentially. The wide-ranging involvement encompassing production companies alongside numerous talented creators and artists enabled outstanding global expansion; every release positively impacted the market with a distinguishable effect, subsequently generating significant growth opportunities in the upcoming years.

Market Introduction:

Anime is a form of animation used to define animation originating from Japan. The cultural distinction in portraying characters in the way they look and act resembles Japanese society, and culture becomes the defining feature of anime. Anime is the animation of everything and anything with the necessary characteristic of it originating from Japan. The origin of anime can be traced back 100 years. There is no difference in the technicalities of creating cartoons or anime. For instance, tom & jerry is a cartoon, whereas Pokemon is anime, even though they may have used the same software to create the shows. Therefore, it is said that all anime is a cartoon, but not all cartoons are anime. Anime is also defined by the features of characters like big endearing eyes or small noses etc. Bright lighting and sharp angles with swift camera movements add to the thrill of watching anime and is also defining feature of this animation. Anime is used as a tool to portray stories from all walks of life, be it supernatural, sci-fi, thriller or non-fiction. Anime has been popular in Japan; however, it held global attention after the popularity of Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z. anime was created for children and adults. Animation artists are exploring new storylines and digital technologies to expand the anime market. The advancement in technologies and software has enabled animation artists to improve characters' appearance, motion and aesthetics. However, generating a final anime show or movie still takes a long and arduous process. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and augmented reality improve the anime market by making creation faster and easier. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Steins; Gate, Clannad After Story, Your Name, and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 are some of the most popular anime T.V. shows in the market.

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Recent Development

October 2022 - The second Atsumaru (come together in Japanese) Euphoria experiential festival debuted on October 29 at The Hub Bengaluru. Atsumaru Euphoria, a day-long festival run by I Know A Guy Productions (IKAG), is a celebration of all things anime, manga, Japanese pop culture, cosplay, and the best of Bangalore through music, food, gaming, merchandise, and other fun activities. The world's first metaverse-as-a-service (MaaS) platform, Metapolis, has joined as a technology partner. It offers various meta-services to simplify web2 companies, creators, and web3 initiatives to onboard into the metaverse. The fan base and niche communities are a ripple effect by making more people interested in Japanese culture.

October 2022 – By acquiring the Scottish company Anime Ltd., German distributor Plaion Pictures hopes to strengthen its position in the lucrative Japanese animation industry. The Munich-based Plaion, formerly Koch Films, has acquired all of the stock in Anime Ltd. Anime Ltd, a Glasgow-based company with headquarters in France, recently agreed to a contract with ITV to supply Cowboy Bebop episodes for the U.K. pubcaster's impending digital streaming service, ITVX. The action is a component of Plaion's plan to invest in the market for anime material, which has seen tremendous growth in recent years.

Market Dynamics:

Drivers

The growing popularity of anime – The increasing ownership of smart connected devices, given the growing affordability and accessibility to smartphones and internet services is one of the significant contributing factors driving anime consumption globally. Globalization in modern times has taken Japanese anime to the international market, contributing to its popularity. The globalization of Japanese animation is also spearheaded by digital streamers like Netflix and amazon prime partnering with Japanese animation studios, thereby driving the global anime market. The unique and distinctive features of anime that endear to the audience are different from western animation or cartoons, making them highly popular in the western world. The growing animation studios with technological advancements to produce more content to meet the rising market demand has also pushed the popularity of anime in the right direction. Creating customized content for the local geographical audience has facilitated the anime market's development. The growing fascination of millennials with anime, given the unique aesthetic and storytelling across genres, has garnered extensive attention to the anime market worldwide. Furthermore, the rising creation of anime content in various markets to exploit the lucrative anime industry has led to the market’s development in the 21^st century. 

Restraints:

Lack of anime artists – Despite technological advancements, anime creation includes multiple stages, from writing and storyboarding to animation and sound design. The numerous steps are time-consuming. The long working hours of anime artists, designers, programmers and creators are not justified by the kind of remuneration they receive. Given the long hours and low income, budding anime artists are discouraged from pursuing this career. With the ever-increasing animation market and the lack of anime artists and skilled animators, the market is likely to witness limited growth.

Opportunities:

Integrating new technologies – The advent of industrialization 4.0 is defined by artificial intelligence, augmented reality, big data, internet-of-things and machine learning in every sphere of the economy. Integrating artificial intelligence and other technologies to create better animation with a faster process will facilitate exponential market growth in the forecast period. The use of new technologies by animation studios can offer lucrative opportunities to them by saving a significant amount of time and effort. Artificial intelligence can also help better the graphics and motion or angles of anime shows, furthering the global anime market.

Challenges:

Unlicensed streaming of anime shows is a widespread practice in the anime market when anime creators live stream their creations. The streaming of anime shows on digital streaming platforms is also popular. The live streaming and digital streaming platforms are licensed streamers partnered with the creators and are paid their due. However, streaming these shows via unlicensed media causes a loss of money to the creators and licensed streamers. The lack of regulations that crack down on the unlicensed streaming of anime also adds to the problem. Therefore, unlicensed anime show steaming will challenge the market's growth.

Regional segmentation analysis:

The regions analyzed for the market include North America, Europe, South America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The Asia Pacific region emerged as the largest market for the global anime market, with a 47.3% market revenue share in 2023. The dominance of Asia Pacific can be attributed to the vast anime market of Japan. The origin of anime is Japan. Anime in the Japanese market carries historical significance. Japan is the largest anime production base in the whole world. The dominance of Japan is the primary reason for the large market share of Asia Pacific in the global anime market. Japan has a well-established anime market with hundreds of animation studios. Japan is also home to several anime artists modernizing the art to expand the market beyond its shores. Japan is also the highest consumer market as the consumption of anime content is driven by the popularity of Japanese-origin comic books. The increasing consumption of anime in the Indian and Korean markets has encouraged young artists and studios to build their anime, propelling the market's future growth. The increasing internet penetration with the growing ownership of smart connected devices in the Asia Pacific market is attributed to the skyrocketing popularity of anime. China is developing its anime to counter the Japanese influence and power in the market. Increased investments in developing animation studios and opportunities for budding anime artists in the Chinese market will bode well for the region's development. The competition between China and Japan to increase their market share will enhance the quality and quantity of anime content in the region, thereby contributing to its growth. The partnership of animation studios with OTT streamlining platforms will offer lucrative opportunities for the market players to expand their consumer base and develop in the global market.

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Type segment analysis

The type segment is divided into television, movie, internet distribution, video, merchandising, music, pachinko, live entertainment, and others. The merchandising segment dominated the market with a revenue share of around 29% in 2023. Merchandising includes the sales of anime-based clothing, accessories and other items in retail stores. The growing popularity of anime in the western world is translated to the increasing demand for anime merchandise fans like to collect as a hobby, passion, or dedication towards a show. Creative merchandise in the form of t-shirts, cups, key chains, small figurines or other regular items used by consumers has gained popularity in the global market. The battles in the anime movies and shows also lead to the formation of groups supporting each character and showing this support by buying and owning merchandise based on these characters. The growing presence of retail outlets selling anime merchandise is also aiding in the segment's growth. The merchandise is often presented as affordable retail items or expensive collectables, which offer significant revenue streams for anime creators. The growing presence of anime merchandise on online sales channels or e-commerce is also expected to facilitate the growth of the segment.

Genre segment analysis

The genre segment is divided into action & adventure, sci-fi & fantasy, romance & drama, sports, and others. The action & adventure segment dominated the market with a revenue share of around 36% in 2023. Anime belonging to the Action & Adventure genre has a substantial market share of consumers across the globe. This popularity can be attributed to their captivating plots, action-packed battle scenes, and multi-layered character-building. This anime genre usually revolves around heroes setting out on extraordinary quests where they confront daunting opponents and surmount great obstacles. The genre's ability offers excitement with an intriguing storyline, making it attractive to niche and mass audiences. The likes of "Naruto," "One Piece," "Death Note," and "Attack on Titan" have gained worldwide attention and boosted the genre's considerable market share. Apart from engaging audiences with their intricate storylines and well-crafted action scenes, these series generate significant income through merchandise sales, video games, and theatrical releases.

Some of the Key Market Players:

• STUDIO DURGA
• Production I.G, Inc.
• Pierrot Co., Ltd.
• Toei Animation Co., Ltd.
• Studio Ghibli, Inc.
• Sunrise, Inc. (Bandai Namco Filmworks)
• Kyoto Animation Co., Ltd.
• Bones Inc.
• Ufotable Co., Ltd.
• MADHOUSE, Inc.
• Progressive Animation Works Co., Ltd. (PA Works)
• Good Smile Company, Inc.
• VIZ Media, LLC
• Sentai Holdings, LLC (AMC Networks)
• Atomic Flare

Report Description: