Anime Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Access to Anime via Streaming Services and Games - Online platforms and anime games now drive the anime industry. In the past, accessing anime was often hard due to region limits or lack of physical media. But video streaming services have changed this. Ones like Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video have made it easy for all to watch anime. They offer big libraries with many kinds of anime. This helps fans around the world find and love anime. A strong, global fanbase has grown as a result. Now, fans can enjoy anime any time they want. This ease has led to more people becoming fans. These platforms also add revenue to the anime industry. Many now turn to them for quick and easy access to shows. Anime-related games also help the industry grow. Combined, these factors push the anime industry forward.
• Social Media and Online Communities – The rise of social media and online groups plays a key role in anime's spread around the world. These sites are lively places where fans share and talk about their favorite shows, build a sense of community, and boost anime's reach. The excited fanbase is not just a group of watchers; they take action by making memes, starting talks, and writing reviews. This online buzz creates a cycle that feeds itself. As anime content gets more popular on social media, it grabs the interest of new viewers curious about the hype. This increase in viewers leads to more people signing up for streaming services, which boosts these platforms' earnings. With social sites and online communities, anime gains more followers.
• Global Investments – The anime market shows promise for production companies aiming to appeal to new groups. Main players are taking steps to seize these chances. They are expanding aggressively to capture a larger share, investing in fresh and creative content for varied tastes, and forming strategic partnerships to enter new regions. These efforts set the stage for ongoing growth, with global audiences playing a key role in anime's future. Revenue from overseas markets, including licensing and streaming, surged to $11.6 billion in 2019.

Challenges

• Piracy – The prevalence of illegal file sharing and streaming sites poses a significant challenge to the anime industry. Piracy stands as a primary challenge to this industry. Such piracy and illegal streaming platforms lead to financial losses for anime producers and creators, hindering overall profitability and long-term sustainability. 
• Quality and Quantity - The anime industry's growing output has fueled a reliance on outsourcing animation work. While this allows for more shows to be produced, it can create challenges in maintaining consistent quality control. Some argue for a shift in focus, prioritizing fewer shows with larger in-house teams and better pay for animators to ensure a higher overall quality standard.