Anime Industry Report 2019
SummaryAuthors
Hiromichi Masuda

Anime Industry ResearcherAdvisor, Video Market Corporation

Tadashi Sudo

Journalist
Appointed professor, Japan University of Economics Graduate
School,Entertainment Business InstituteKazuo Rikukawa

President, Character Databank, Ltd.
Director/Secretary-General, Character Brand Licensing Association

Yuji Mori

President, Senior Director, Dentsu Consulting Inc.
Specially Appointed Professor, Graduate School of Asia University

Naofumi Ito

Department Director, Content Strategic Planning Office Content
Division, ASATSU-DK INC.

Yasuo Kameyama

Ph.D. Student, Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University
senior director of C i P committee

Megumi Onouchi

President, HUMANMEDIA Inc.
Vice Chairman, The Association of Japanese Animations,
Digital production environment Committee
Vice Chairman, The Association of Japanese Animations,
Human Resources Development Committee

Editor
Hiromichi Masuda(editor in chief)

Anime Industry Researcher
Auditor, Video Market Corporation

Masahiro Hasegawa

Producer, HUMANMEDIA Inc.

Misako Ashikawa

HUMANMEDIA Inc.

Cooperation in Material Research
Mitsuru Soda

Animation Researcher, curator

Cooperation in Editing
Hiroko Uehara

Part-time Lecturer , Shobi University Graduate SchoolApril, 2019
The Association of Japanese Animations

The market recorded the highest sales in 2018, however, overseas sales,
the driver of the Japanese animation market, slowed down.
In 2018, the Japanese animation market recorded 9 consecutive years of growth since 2010, with 6 consecutive years of record-breaking high sales. The growth rate over the previous year, however, was 100.9% due to the slowdown of overseas sales(101.4%) compared to 178.7% in 2015, 131.6% in 2016 and 129.6% in 2017. On the other hand, while the domestic market had decreased for the past 3 consecutive years, it recovered slightly (100.4% over the previous year).

Rapid Growth of the Animation Market Slowed Down

suddenly slow in 2018?
A lot of people in the industry mention the slowdown of the Chinese market as the major factor. It is widely known that

Although the Japanese animation market recorded consecutive growth in 2018 [Fig. 1], the record (100.9% over theChina imposes strict regulations on expressions in media content, including movies and TV. On the other hand, theprevious year) was low, which might have resulted in the market falling into negative territory. TV (107.0% in 2018,regulations on the Internet were considered rather mild until recently. China, however, decided to impose regulations as

100.9% in 2017), Movie (103.9% in 2018, 61.8% in 2017), Internet (110.2% in 2018, 113.0% in 2017), Music (104.1%strict as those applied on the existing media on the Internet due to its growing impact. In addition, it decided to apply thein 2018, 93.2% in 2017*), Overseas (101.4% in 2019, 129.6% in 2017), Pachinko (105.5% in 2018, 95.4% in 2017), andcensorship system for conventional media content to Internet content, too. As a result, the reluctance of buyers due toLive Entertainment (123.1% in 2018, 118.2% in 2017) expanded while Videogram (76.7% in 2018, 97.1% in 2017) andthe concern over the impact of the regulations surfaced in the middle of 2018, although the regulations were unenforced

Merchandising (95.6% in 2018, 73.0% in 2017) shrank. In terms of sales volume, Videogram (-17.8 billion yen) anduntil April 2019.

Merchandising (-22.9 billion yen) decreased significantly while Pachinko (+14.8 billion yen) and Overseas (+14.4 billionyen) increased, stopping the overall market falling into negative territory. Generally speaking, it is undeniable that the[Figure 2] The Trend of the Domestic Market and Overseas Market in a Broad Sense (hundred million yen)
14,000

rapid growth of the Japanese animation market in the past years slowed down.

12,000* Sales via Internet distribution have been included in the survey since 2018. Sales from conventional media were98.6% over the previous year.

10,000[Figure 1] The Japanese Animation Market in a Broad Sense (Yen in billions)

6,000
2,162.4 2,181.4

2,200
1,829.1

1,800

1,400
1,200

1,096.8 1,118.2

1,223.0

1,388.8
1,304.2 1,350.4 1,314.3

2002

1,323.9 1,337.5 1,338.6

2003

2004

7,827

4,827

5,215

5,204

9,948 10,092
7,676
5,833

4,390

4,137
2,544

2,867

2,669

2,408

2,823

3,265

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

〈The Anime Window Opened at the Full-scale Turning Point〉

1,000
2002

4,212

7,403

8,753

11,939 13,096 12,458 12,334 11,676 11,722

Based on questionnaires conducted by the Association of Japanese Animations※The annual average rate of Principal Global Indicators is adopted as the exchange rate.

1,476.2
1,266.1

3,725

6,970

8,300

10,3729,751 10,117

10,706 10,978

01,636.1

1,600

4,000

7,243

Ovesrseas

2,000

2,001.0

2,000

8,000

Domestic

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Based on questionnaires conducted by the Association Japanese Animations and other publicly available statistics

In 2018, the downfall of Videogram stood out the most. Among the current 9 genres (or windows) of the animation
market [Fig. 3], 7 genres (i.e. TV, Movie, Videogram, Internet, Merchandising and Overseas) have existed since thebeginning of the survey. But there were actually 6 genres at the very beginning, since the survey included the Internet

Topics in the Japanese Animation Industry from 2017 to 2018

starting in 2002. Then Pachinko was added in 2009 and Live Entertainment was added in 2013. Thus, the genres〈Is the Overseas Market Slowing Down?〉

remarkable is the rise of Internet and the decline of Videogram. This trend is attributed to “digitalization”. On the otherAs seen in the comparison between the domestic market size and the overseas market size [Fig. 2], the maximum

hand, the growth of Live Entertainment, hot and very humanly direct media, is notable. In the near future, Digitalmargin was 911.16 billion yen in 2013. Then the margin rapidly narrowed to 172.8 billion yen in 2017. Considering theMerchandising* and Net Gaming** originating from animations might be added as new genres and Videogram might be

growth rate of the overseas market in past years, it was more likely that the overseas market overtook the domestic

removed. The effect of animation on the economy is constantly changing.

market in 2018. The overseas market, however, increased slightly by 14.4 billion yen and the domestic market also

* Digital merchandising is not included in the genre of Merchandising at this moment.

increased slightly by 46 billion yen. As a result, the expected reverse did not happen. Why did the overseas market** Conventional physical game platforms are included in the genre of Merchandising.

included in the animation market have changed constantly, though some have risen while some have fallen. What is

〈Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Brought a New Wave in U.S Animations〉[Figure 3] Japanese animation market trends in a broad sense (billion yen)item①TV②Movie③Video④Internet Distribution⑤Merchandising⑥Music⑦Overseas⑧The Pachinko and the like
⑨Live Entertainment
Total

2002
124.1
19.8
129.4
0.2
435.0
13.8
372.5
1,095

2003
116.5
19.6
117.6
1.0
433.7
9.1
421.2
1,119

2004
110.0
38.0
103.1
1.8
461.7
23.5
482.7
1,221

2005
104.1
17.8
138.8
4.1
504.9
12.0
521.5
1,303

2006
100.3
28.4
135.8
8.4
530.5
26.1
520.4
1,350

2007
92.4
21.2
127.8
9.8
597.4
26.3
439.0
1,314

2008
94.6
33.8
111.3
10.2
536.4
35.0
413.7
152.8
1,388

2009
95.529.9
105.2
12.3
559.7
41.4
254.4
166.5
1,265

2010
89.5
33.8
108.5
14.9
627.4
40.6
286.7
122.6
1,324

2011
90.0
28.5
106.7
16.0
594.3
32.5
266.9
202.6
1,338

2012
95.1
40.9
105.9
27.2
573.2
28.3
240.8
227.2
1,339

2013
102.0
47.0
115.3
34.0
598.5
29.6
282.3
242.7
24.8
1,476

2014
110.7
41.7
102.1
40.8
655.2
29.2
326.5
298.1
31.8
1,636

2015
107.2
47.7
92.8
43.7
579.4
32.5
583.3
294.1
48.4
1,829

2016
105.9
66.3
78.8
47.8
562.7
36.9767.6
281.8
53.2
2,001

2017
106.9
41.0
76.5
54.0
523.2
34.4
994.8
268.7
62.9
2,162

2018
114.4
42.6
58.7
59.5
500.3
35.8
1,009.2
283.5
77.4
2,181

前年比
107.0％
103.9％
76.7％
110.2％
95.6％
104.1％
101.4％
105.5％
123.1％
100.9％The total box office arising from U.S. animations in North America in 2018 recorded 1,639,010,000 U.S. dollars, 113.8%
over the previous year. Looking at shares by studios, Pixar/Disney occupies 49.4%, overwhelming others; Illumination
occupies 16.5%; and Sony Pictures Animation, which released three animation works in the year, occupies 21.8%. The
three studios occupied 88.7% of the total. What was remarkable was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the Oscar
winner for Best Animation Feature. Sony Pictures Animation won the Oscar for the first time with this work. Director
Yoshiyuki Tomino quoted, “For Americans involved in the film industry, this animation would be the first theatricalanimation produced ‘not for children’”. This has a significant meaning for the Japanese animation industry since it

item
①TV
②Movie③Video④Internet Distribution⑤Merchandising⑥Music⑦Overseas⑧The Pachinko and the like
⑨Live EntertainmentTotal

recognized that Hollywood has finally advanced into the realm overlapping with the adult animation market that had
been Japan’s monopoly. If this trend shifts into high gear, the existence of Japanese animation may be questioned again.
[Figure 5] Box Office of Major Animation Works Released in the U.S. in 2018 (in U.S. dollar)
Title

BOX OFFICE

film distribution

Incredibles 2$608,581,744

2The Grinch$270,620,950

Universal

3Ralph Breaks the Internet$201,091,711

Buena Vista (Disney)

4Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse$190,241,310

Sony / Columbia

Sony Pictures Animation

5Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation$167,510,016

Sony / Columbia

Sony Pictures Animation

6Smallfoot$83,240,103

WB

Warner Bros. Animation

It has already been mentioned that the increase and decrease of the production minutes of TV animations determine the7

Sherlock Gnomes$43,242,871

Paramount

Paramount Animation

practical economic trend of the Japanese animation industry since Japan is the country of TV animations. As seen in8

Isle of Dogs

$32,015,231

FoxS

Studio Babelsberg

9Teen Titans Go! To the Movies$29,790,236

WB

Warner Bros. Animation

Based on questionnaires conducted by the Association of Japanese Animations and other publicly available statistics〈The 2nd Most Production Minutes Recorded in 2018〉

Fig.4, the production minutes in 2018 recorded 130,808 minutes, which was 112.9% of the previous year’s minutes andthe 2nd most since the survey started. The increase of 14,968 minutes is equivalent to the total production minutes ofBuena Vista (Disney)

Production

1

Pixar Animation Studios
Illumination
Walt Disney Animation Studios

10 Early Man$8,267,544

LGF

Aardman Animations Ltd

11 Sgt. Stubby:An American Hero

$4,015,935

FunAcadFun Academy Media Group

12 RWBY Volume 6 Premiere$238,379

FathomRooster Teeth Productions

ten titles of 30-minute animation series (about 50 titles are aired per year in Japan). If the production minutes of original

By AJA based on BOX OFFICE MOJO

animation works distributed on VOD services such as Netflix are included, the result would exceed 136,407 minutes, arecord high in 2006. This significant increase is directly attributed to the increase of new animation works; however, it is〈Will the Arrival of a Mega Hit in China Reignite Chinese Interest in Investment?〉

hard to say whether it is attributed to increasing demand for animation or to productivity improvement associated withThe Chinese theatrical animation industry started the year 2019 with uncertainty due to the significant decline of thedigitalization. Probably both..

box office since 2016; however, a work which totally dispelled such worry finally arrived. The 3D animation Ne Zha,

One thing for sure is that quality deterioration, which was seen in 2016, was not found in 2018 despite the significant

released during the summer vacation of the year, rapidly increased its box office with tremendous speed, easily

increase. There was no case that all the production was left to overseas subcontracts while a certain level of quality was

sweeping past the record of the box office champion of Chinese animations, Hero is Back (957 million yuan/15.3

maintained (although there were some cases in which broadcasting was postponed). It seems the only way to judge

billion yen*), and the record of the box office champion of overall animation in China, Zootopia (1.533 billion yuan/24.5

whether there is further space for growth of the production minutes or not is to watch the trend from 2018 closely.

billion yen). Ne Zha finally recorded 5 billion yuan (80 billion yen), overtaking the Chinese record of the world box officechampion, Incredible Family. This will surely trigger a boom in production investments that have been slowing down

[Figure 4] Production Minutes of TV Animations
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,00060,00040,00020,000075,89085,43992,724 98,687

136,407
124,648
110,047107,919
106,335109,459

90,445 95,099

since Hero is Back and accelerate the expansion of the Chinese animation industry. But there is a risk that China will

130,808
119,962
115,854
112,170
115,533
115,840
105,070

detach itself from Japanese animation. Chinese creators, including the director of Ne Zha, were born in the 80s and weredeeply influenced by Japanese manga, anime, and games. Now it seems those creators have already mastered their own
expression methods and fully absorbed Japanese cultures. It is questioned whether China, with such talented creators,
still needs to collaborate with Japan. We will keep an eye on the trends from now on.

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

200520062007200820092010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Based on a survey conducted by the Association of Japanese AnimationsThe market size exceeded 2 trillion yen!
All the necessary information for today’s animation market is in this report.

Anime Industry Report 2019We, the Association of Japanese Animations, are engaged in research, survey, and analysis in connection with the Japanese
animation industry. We have also published “Anime Industry Report” since 2009 in order to disseminate information about
the industry to the world.
The survey for this report revealed that the market size reached 2 trillion 181.4 billion yen (100.9% of the previous year’s),
recording the most sales for six consecutive years despite the slight growth.
The overseas market reached 1000 billion yen for the first time, recording 1 trillion 9.2 billion yen (101.4% of the previousyear’s) while Internet (123.1% of the previous year’s) and Live Entertainment (110.2% of the previous year’s) showed
constant growth.
We hope you feel the momentum of the animation industry and utilize the data for your business activities.
■Outline【Title】
Anime Industry Report 2019【Publisher】
The Association of Japanese Animations【Release day】
December 9, 2020
【Size/Pages】
A4 / 100P (Report), + 4 chart sheets inserted+ All Animation Works Perfect Data(Online)【Price】
10,000 yen (tax excluded)【Index】
1.Overview of the Japanese animation industry in 2018
*Overall market trends and notable trends of the industry
2.Trends in respective media*Animation distribution market (TV animation, theatrical animation, videogram, Internet distribution), secondary use(including merchandising), advertisement/promotion, music, and live entertainment
3.Trends in the overseas market*Japanese animations in the global market
4.Special topic ※Current situation of digitalization in animation production（Electronic Edition） Materials, All Animation Works Perfect Data *TV, Theatrical, and OVA
Chart: Trends in the Japanese Animation Market, Recent Movements of the Japanese Animation Industry and Market,
Development of Japanese Animation in the Overseas Market, Distribution Map of Japanese Animation Studios
Available at the following:
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The Association of Japanese Animations
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