Anime Industry Report 2017
Summary
Authors
Hiromichi Masuda

Anime Industry Researcher
Auditor, Video Market Corporation

Tadashi Sudo

Journalist

Kazuo 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

Editor
Hiromichi Masuda(editor in chief)

Anime Industry Researcher
Auditor, Video Market Corporation

Masahiro Hasegawa

Producer, HUMANMEDIA Inc.

Cooperation in Material Research
Mitsuru Soda

JuGeMu Co., Ltd.

Cooperation in Editing
Hiroko Uehara

Part-time Lecturer , Japan Electronics College
Part-time Lecturer , Shobi University Graduate School

Megumi Onouchi

President, HUMANMEDIA Inc.

January, 2018
The Association of Japanese Animations

Trends in Japanese Animation Market (2016 version)

The upper part shows Japanese animation market trends in a broad sense (i.e. market size based on estimated revenues in animation and animation‐related product markets). The lower part shows Japanese animation market trends in a more limited sense (i.e.
market size based on the estimated revenues of all domestic commercial animation studios). It’s obvious that the animation market in a broad sense is overwhelmingly larger than in a limited sense. This is because the animation‐related businesses including
character merchandising have significant leverage effects.

Japanese animation market trends in a broad sense (i.e. market size based on estimated revenues in animation and animation‐related markets)〈2002 – 2016〉■ ① ＴＶ■ ② Movie■ ③ Video■ ④ Internet Distribution■ ⑤ Merchandising■ ⑥ Music■ ⑦ Overseas■ ⑧ The Pachinko and the like■ ⑨ Live Entertainment

2,000billion yen
1,821billion
1,800billion yen

47.5

2,001billion

Definition of each item(end‐user basis)

61.51) TV: domestic TV animation revenues2) Movie: domestic theatrical animation box office revenues3) Video: domestic videogram animation revenues (DVD, etc.
media)
4) Internet Distribution: domestic online animation revenues5) Merchandising: domestic animation‐related merchandise
revenues
6) Music: domestic animation‐related music revenues7) Overseas: overseas Japanese animation revenues (movie,
TV, videogram, MD, etc.)
8) Pachinko and Pachinko‐slot machine: estimated shipment
value of animation character‐themed Pachinko and Pachinko‐
slot machine machines.
9) Live Entertainment: animation‐related live‐performance,
event, exhibition, and cafe revenues (Note 4)281.8

1,630billion
1,600billion yen

1,471billion

1,400billion yen
1,221billion
1,200billion yen

1,095billion

521.5

9.1

23.5

12.0

600billion yen

200billion yen
billion
0 yen

1,380billion
152.8

520.4

1,254billion

439.0
413.7

421.2

800billion yen

26.1

26.3

504.9

530.5

597.4

4.1
138.8

8.4
135.8

9.8
127.8

435.0

433.7

461.7

0.2
129.4
19.8
124.1

1.0
117.6
19.6
116.5

1.8
103.1
38.0
110.0

17.8
104.1

28.4
100.3

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

400billion yen

1,314billion

1,313billion

1,330billion

1,333billion

122.6

202.6

227.2

166.5

482.7

13.8

1,350billion

1,119billion

1,000billion yen
372.5

1,303billion

24.5
242.7

240.8

24.5

23.0

627.4

594.3

573.2

29.7
30.7

536.4

559.7

10.2
111.3

14.9
108.5
33.8
89.5

16.0
106.7
28.5
90.0

27.2
105.9

115.3

40.9
95.1

2010

2011

2012

2007

2008

2009

23.7

24.6

27.0

33.8
94.6

767.6
583.3

282.3
266.9

254.4

21.2
92.4

298.1

326.5
286.7

12.3
105.2
29.9
95.5

294.1

31.1

25.8

655.2

598.5

28.5

579.4

562.7

43.7
92.8
46.9

47.8
78.8

47.0

40.8
102.1
41.7

102.0

110.7

107.2

105.9

2013

2014

2015

2016

34.0

66.3

Note 1: Domestic TV animation revenues were calculated basedon the following formula: (the sum of commercial TV broadcast
stations’ revenues and NHK’s broadcast revenues) x (the ratio ofanimation program to overall program broadcast minutes) +(revenue of animation channels)
Note 2: Pachinko and Pachinko‐slot machine with animation
character values were estimated based on their percentage of
total Pachinko and Pachinko‐slot machine shipments.
Note 3: The survey for Pachinko and Pachinko‐slot machine
started from 2008.
Note 4: The survey for Live Entertainment started from 2013.
The amount is the sum of the revenues of the following: anime
song/voice actor appearances, events, 2.5D musicals, museums,
exhibitions, cafés.
Note 5: The revenues for Merchandising from 2007 to 2013 wererecalculated in 2014.

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

Trends in Japanese animation market in a limited sense (i.e. market size based on the estimated revenues of all domestic commercial animation studios〈2002 – 2016〉)■① ＴＶ■ ② Movie■ ③ Video■ ④ Internet Distribution
223billion

208billion■ ⑤ Merchandising■ ⑥ Music■ ⑦ Overseas■ ⑧ The Pachinko and the like

212billion

17.3
54.7
include pachinko and the like187billion
181billion
include pachinko and the like
53.6
0
31.2
12.4
include pachinko and the like
26.0
00 pachinko and the like
3.1
0include
7.5
24.8
31.3
141billion
150billion yen
26.8
137billion
29.0
3.3
35.4
2.1
11.3
3.1
8.3
0
0
include pachinko and the like include pachinko and the like 4.1
2.1
36.3
34.5
22.4
25.3
30.7
29.2
2.4
1.6
37.3
1.0
2.6
100billion yen
2.5
21.6
0.5
25.4
21.8
30.1
0.1
34.9
0.3
27.7
22.8
35.8
31.0
33.5
18.0
16.9
18.4
8.8

6.8

37.2

36.4

2002

2003

45.9

47.8

2004

2005

■ ⑩ Others
230billion

201billion

200billion yen

50billion yen■ ⑨ Live Entertainment

58.4

146billion
11.7
4.5
15.3
4.0
27.4
3.1
17.9
18.6

149billion

153billion
8.5
9.7

164billion
5.0
10.9

7.2
2.5
17.2
3.4

16.0
3.1

26.0

24.4

6.8

3.7
16.4

4.0
16.2

15.3

25.2

50
50.0

45.9

43.2

47.2

2007

2008

2009

2010

15.3

14.4
2.9
26.7

20.7

185billion

186billion

9.1
1.2
11.6

10.8
1.6
14.2

16.9
3.1

19.5

26.5
8.5
15.5
24.8

11.1
2.6
13.9
34.9

3.0

3.3

26.6

25.8

10.2

11.0

16.1

14.5

22.6

23.1

18.4
3.1
13.3

45.9
3.6
30.4
12.0
12.5
25.2

56
56.0

61.6

67.4

61.7

60.5

65.7

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

billion
0 yen

2006

Definition of each item
(animation studio basis)
1) TV: revenue from TV animation production andbroadcasting right fees2) Movie: revenue from production and profit distribution oftheatrical animations3) Video: revenue from production and profit distribution ofanimation videograms
4) Internet Distribution: revenue from the Internet
distribution and profit distribution related to animation
content
5) Merchandising: revenue from character licensing,advertisement, promotion, events etc. related to animation
content6) Music: revenue from music related to animation content
7) Overseas: revenue from overseas markets including license
fees related to animation content
8) Pachinko and the like: revenue from animation production
and profit distribution for Pachinko and Pachinko‐slot
machines
9) Others: revenue from services/businesses other than above
Note 6: The survey for Pachinko and Pachinko-slot
machine started from 2008. Figures for this industry were
included in “Others” until 2007.

Based on questionnaires conducted by the Association of Japanese Animations and statistics released to public.

The market expanded continuously, recording the highest sales for 4
consecutive years while the size crossed the 2 trillion yen mark driven
by overseas sales.
The Japanese animation market, which hit bottom in 2009 and picked up in 2010, recorded growth for 7 consecutive years and reported its highest sales for the fourth consecutive year. The market size finally exceeded 2 trillion yen, which was
110% on a year‐by‐year basis. Videogram sales shrunk considerably (84.9%), and TV (98.8%), Merchandising (97.1%), and Pachinko (95.8%) also decreased. Meanwhile, Movie (141.4%), Music (110.5%), Internet Distribution (109.4%), LiveEntertainment (129.5%) and Overseas (131.6%) expanded. Movie enjoyed strong sales thanks to the blockbuster hit movie “Your Name.” Among those, Overseas, which recorded the largest sales, especially stood out.

Expanding the Japanese Animation Market and Overseas Sales
Recently, the Japanese animation industry has been covered a lot in the mass media, including
newspapers and TV, and the data in this report is frequently cited in the coverage. That helps build
people’s awareness of the industry in some way. In 2016, the industry, which recorded positive growthfor four consecutive years, crossed the 2 trillion yen mark when they recorded sales of 2 trillion 900
million yen (109.9% on a year‐by‐year basis).
Looking at each genre, 5 genres (Movie, Internet Distribution, Music, Overseas and Live Entertainment)
increased while 4 genres (TV, Videogram, Merchandising and Pachinko) decreased. The number ofincreased genres and that of decreased genres are almost the same. The main factors of the growth were
Movie, which recorded the highest box office in the animation genre (¥66.3 billion, 141.4% yr/yr),Internet Distribution, which records the highest sales every year (¥47.8 billion, 109.4% yr/yr), andOverseas, which recorded a significant increase (¥767.6 billion, 131.6% yr/yr). Overseas, which took theNo.1 place in the previous year, further expanded, leaving Merchandising, the 2nd by a narrow margin in
the previous year, far behind. It could be said that the overseas sales supported the overall growth of theindustry.

Topics in the Japanese Animation Industry From 2016 to 2017
〈The 4th Anime Boom Without any Felt Benefits〉
As also mentioned in the last report, the animation industry entered the 4th anime boom in terms ofsales. The situation, however, was not quite so simple. As shown in Fig.1, the sales amount hit bottom in
2009, picked up in 2010, and has accelerated since 2013. Focusing on the domestic sales trend for the
past 4 years, the annual sales remained mostly level, increasing by 3.8% from 2013 (¥1.19 trillion in2013, ¥1.30 trillion in 2014, ¥1.24 trillion in 2015 and ¥1.23 trillion in 2016). Meanwhile, the overseas
sales trend showed a dramatic increase, increasing by 171.9% from 2013 (¥282.3 billion in 2013,¥326.5 billion in 2014, ¥582.3 billion in 2015 and ¥767.6 billion in 2016). Actually, the growth of theindustry was attributed to the overseas market. This was also the reason the industry felt little benefit
though the growth reached the level of the 4th animation boom. The stagnation of the domestic market
was due to unsuccessful transition of distribution channels; the switch from existing channels shrinking(TV, Videogram, Pachinko, and Merchandising) to new channels growing (Movie*, Internet Distribution,and Live Entertainment) did not go well. The growth of those new channels was not enough to make up
for the decline of the existing channels. (*Movie, the oldest channel, has grown recently thanks to new
business models brought by theatrical digitalization.)[Figure 1] Revenues of Japanese Animation Industry

2000.92000
1900

1820.71800
1700

1629.91600

1470.9

1500
1400
1300
1200
1100

1220.81303.2

1349.91313.91379.81254.21313.1 1329.5 1333.3

1094.8 1118.7

1000
2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Based on the survey conducted by The Association of Japanese Animations〈Video Distribution and Chinese Business〉
The most active movements in the animation business in 2016 would be video distribution and Chinese
power.
In terms of video distribution, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, the two U.S. platforms proactive toward
Japanese animations, stood out. Netflix especially attracted attention by announcing its investment in adozen animation works, including works based on famous Japanese manga, such as “DEVILMAN
crybaby”, “Baki”, and “Saint Seiya” at Netflix Anime Slate 2017. Netflix positively collaborated with major
Japanese animation studios such as Toei Animation and Toms Entertainment for those works.
Meanwhile, Hulu, a domestic video distribution platform, was involved in the production of animation
works such as “Soutaisekai”, “Enshen to Maho no Tablet”, and “Pig ‐ Okanoue no Dam Keeper” (Pig was
mainly intended for international distribution). Furthermore, Hulu attracted attention by distributing
Infini‐T Force via the Internet ahead of TV broadcasting by taking advantage of its position as an affiliate
of a major TV station.
Abema TV, a platform co‐capitalized by Cyber Agent and TV Asahi, also drew attention with its free
video‐streaming business model. The platform, sensational not only within the animation industry but

also among all Japanese Internet distribution services, increased subscribers by gaining popularity with
its unique programs such as “Kameda Koki ni Kattara 1000 Man!” Even so, the most popular programs
among them were animations. The platform made efforts to gain popularity by distributing someanimation programs ahead of their TV broadcast; however, there is no doubt its strongest appeal was
the free distribution service. It is worth keeping an eye on whether or not Abema TV becomes a threat toexisting pay distribution services in Japan.
Another topic in 2017 was Chinese power. It was just three to four years ago when China began a
shopping spree for Japanese animations for Chinese major platforms. In 2016, some Chinese companies
started investing in Japanese animation production committees; furthermore, they began outsourcing
animation production for their own IP projects to Japanese studios. Since 2015, the Chinese government
has lifted a ban on Japanese theatrical animations, which also had economic spillover effects, boostingoverseas sales of Japanese animation.
The Chinese market, however, has a great risk of fluctuation since politics always prevail in China. As canbe seen from the past cases, such as the broadcasting ban on foreign animations in 2006 and sanctions
against South Korea after the deployment of THAAD, there is a risk of a sudden shrinking of the market
due to the political climate. Actually, some are holding off buying Japanese animations in response to a
notice requesting to give priority to Chinese IP. We should keep in mind that there is a possibility thatthe market may return to the size it was before the time of the shopping spree if a full‐fledged ban isapplied to Internet distribution as has been done to TV broadcasting.
<Change in Theatrical Animation Trends>
The year 2016 will be remembered as the year movies changed. Thanks to the success of “Shin Godzilla”,“Your Name.”, and “In This Corner of the World” (release date order), manga, anime and special effects,
the genres which used to be categorized as “subculture,”emerged prominently. They were no longer“sub”. As seen in Fig. 2, it is obvious that theatrical animations have increased their presence since the2000s; however, the phenomenon was more prominent in 2016. (The year 2001 stood out due to therelease of “Spirited Away”.) Theatrical animations and special effects movies, which were sometimes
considered less important, came to be acclaimed. Actually, those three works received 91% of the majordomestic film awards: the Japan Academy Awards, Kinema Junpo Best 10, Blue Ribbon Awards* andMainichi Film Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay* (*no Best Screenplay for Blue
Ribbon Awards). The works also occupied 80% of the awards for staff. It iss indeed a notable feat.
Animation and special effects, which used to be considered “subculture,” became recognized as
mainstream in film culture in 2016.
[Figure 2] Share of Anime Box Office in Overall Japanese Film Box Office
70.0%

63.0%

60.0%
43.7%

50.0%

40.8%

40.0%
30.0%

27.7%
35.1%

26.2%

24.1%

2006

2007

29.0%

26.0%

27.9%

29.0%

2009

2010

2011

32.2%

37.6%

36.0%

2013

2014

42.0%

44.3%

2015

2016

29.1%

20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2008

2012

Based on the survey conducted by The Association of Japanese Animations〈What Production Minutes Indicated: The Main Audience was Adults. Short Animations
Emerged〉
The share of late‐night animations took over that of day‐time animations in 2015, and the difference
increased in 2016 (Fig. 3). This, as mentioned in the previous report, too, was quite unique in Japan, andwas not seen in any other countries where animations aimed at children dominated (or where no
animations other than animations for children existed). In 2018, the first OTAKU generation (such as Mr.
Toshio Okada) will reach the age of 60, which means a wide range of generations, from babies less than
one year old to adults aged 60, watch animations in Japan. In other words, Japan, the leading country inanimation, enjoys a monopoly over the adult animation market which can develop much further.
Another feature was the rise of short animations. The number of short animation works increased from
275 to 356 in the last four years while the production minutes remained almost the same (110,000
min‐plus. per year in the last 4 years). This was because the number of short animation works within 10
min. increased. The phenomenon, generated thanks to the speeding up of daily life rhythms and thegrowth of individual digital creators, is expected to continue along with the effect of Internet media,
which requires no fixed timeframes.
[Figure 3] Production Minutes of TV animation (daytime/late night)(unit: min.)80,00070,00060,00050,00040,00030,00020,00010,0000Daytime

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

66,840 68,625 76,234 75,426 67,752 65,995 77,326 70,222 62,724 58,342 55,782 53,338 62,282 61,694 62,094 54,733 50,775

Late night 8,120 16,814 16,490 23,261 38,583 43,464 59,081 54,426 47,323 49,577 34,663 41,761 42,788 50,476 57,868 60,800 65,030

Based on the survey conducted by The Association of Japanese Animations
Note1:Broadcast of MX TV and BS 11 etc. after 21:00 was incorporated into the late‐night anime.

〈Driving Force of Anime Business Growth〉
Application games developed mainly for smart phones have a great potential to make the animationindustry market leap further. “Fate/stay night”, the great hit game/animation series, was developed
mainly in the Japanese and Chinese markets while “Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle”, also a huge hit, waslocalized for the Chinese market. The genre of those application games has not been recognized as one
independent window as of yet, but it has great potential as a driver of animation business growth like
Pachinko (newly established as an independent window in 2008). Although some have concerns about
the “chicken or the egg” relationship between anime and those application games, they may need to seethem as one unified IP or content. In any case, it’s certain that application games have become more andmore important for the animation industry.

Trends in Japanese Animation Market (2017 version)
Structural Transition Along with the 4th Anime Boom

Production minutes of TV animation (2000-2016)■Box office revenue*All theatrical animations released not only via ordinary distribution routes but also independently are included.*Alltheatrical animations released not only via ordinary distribution routes but also independently are included.

Box office revenue of theatrical animations (2000-2016)

Number of theatrical animation works and their production minutes■Production minutes of TV animation*Production minutes of TV animation in 2011 increased as the result of recalculation.*Production minutes of TV animation in2011 increased as the result of recalculation.

Production minutes of TV animation remained high.

"Your Name." exceeded ¥25 billion. Theatrical animations made a big leap.

The number of theatrical animation works increased continuously thanks tothe active market.

Since the mid‐90’s, the box office for theatrical animations was pushed up by Ghibli works. In
2015, however, the box office recorded ¥47.7 billion without the release of any works by Ghibli,
which gave the animation industry an optimistic outlook that it could somehow do well without
Ghibli. Just then, the thing no one ever expected happened: the arrival of "Your Name.". It had
been thought that the box office records established by Hayao Miyazaki were unbreakable;
nevertheless, "Your Name." recorded the 2nd largest box office records among all Japanese
movies. It is indeed a miracle considering the box office of the director’s previous work only
reached an estimated ¥150 million. The hit absolutely drew attention to theatrical animation
businesses, and the box office of theatrical animations will probably stay strong for a while.

Production minutes of TV animation broadcasts in 2016 was 115,805 minutes, surpassing
115,533 minutes in 2015. The production minutes have remained high since 2015 thanks toan increase in animation investments from newcomers as well as from existing studios
which have positive investment policies. Accordingly, animation production boomed whilesome problems, such as delays or suspensions in production, occurred. This was because
cultivation of staff did not catch up with the demand on‐site. Although the demand for new
animation works is still high in the market, the current production minutes might be themaximum for Japanese animation studios mainly relying on traditional hand drawn
animation.

150,000(minute)120,000
90,00066.3(billion yen)

136,407
119,962
115,805
124,648
112,169
115,533
109,459
110,046
105,070
106,335
107,919
95,09898,68792,72490,44585,43975,890

50.5

50

20
30,000

34.8

28.9
21.8

19.2

47.7

47.0
40.9

40.2

40

60,000In 2016, 81 theatrical animation works were released. This was a slight decrease compared to 86 in
2015, but the second‐most in history. On the other hand, the production minutes in 2016 increasedslightly (6097 minutes in 2015 when the production minutes first exceeded 6000 minutes). This was
because of the continuous success of regular animation series such as "Detective Conan" and"Doraemon" as well as the boom of small‐ and mid‐sized movies. Then the mega‐hit "Your Name."arrived. It is not hard to imagine the success of that work stimulating creative desires in the industry.
That’s the way the world goes. The theatrical animation market will be active from now on.
Production minuets

19.1

31.1

41.7

21.6

18.8

5,000

3,000

28.5

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

00

16

(title)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

31

45

33

1,900 2,035

2,730

31

2,249 2,254

1,728

59

54

46

36

31

25

55

51

63

3,041

3,728

2,586

3,739 4,000 3,581

4,713 4,782 4,764

6,046 6,097

0

0
00

46

2,000
1,000

81

73

4,000

33.7

10

0

86

Number of works(minute)
6,000

60

30

(2000-2016)

01

02

03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Edited based on the data by Motion Picture Association of Japan, Kinema Jumpo and Bunkatsushinsha(Edited by Mindbase Inc. from 2000 to 2008 and by the Association of Japanese Animations from 2009 to 2016)

Based on the survey conducted by AJA

00

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Based on the survey conducted by the Association of Japanese Animations

Data & Topics of Japanese Animation Industry 2017 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●Number of TV animation programs (1963-2016)
350■ TV animation program newly released in the year
■ TV animation program broadcast/serialized continuously from the previous year
*TV animation programs, animation inserted in other TV programs, TV animation combined with live-action programs are all included.
*The data has been closely examined in the “Nenkan Perfect Data” since 2014.

(title)
300

250

200

150

Merchandising related to animations (2000-2016)■Revenues of Animation Videograms*Revenues of animation videograms are the total amount of genres aimed towards both
adults and children among all Japanese animations in the report by Japan Video Software
Association.

*Revenues of the top 100 Japanese animation character sale rankings were tallied.
*Revenues arising from the use of characters in advertisements, promotions and Pachinko/Pachinko‐slot were not included.
*Totals from 2007 to 2013 were recalculated in 2014.

The animation videogram market deteriorated
into a full‐scale slump.

New entries from China and the Game Industry increased.

IIn 2016, a total of 356 TV animation programs were broadcast (90 continuing, 266new), which was another increase from the figure in 2015. New programs increased
significantly by 33 while programs broadcast/serialized continuously decreased by 18.
This was because late‐night animation programs broadcast mainly for one season
increased while daytime animation programs decreased. There was a stream of new
entries, especially from companies engaged in application games for smartphones, toanimation businesses. Actually, the number of animation programs based on suchapplication games was on an increasing trend, reflecting increasing interest in
animation businesses. It could be said that those game application companies had anappetite for business expansion by means of diversification including character
merchandising. Regarding China, an increasing demand for Japanese animations whose
distribution officially started on a full scale in China pushed up license fees in themarket. Under such circumstances, some of the Chinese Internet distributors
participated in production as investors in order to secure the license in China.

Animation videograms (2000-2016)

233266232

The size of the animation videogram market in 2016 was 78.3
billion yen, decreasing for three consecutive years, by 15.1% fromthe previous year. Actually, many of the industry participants
mentioned the market slowdown in recent years, as confirmed by
the data here indicating that the animation videograms market
has reached a big turning point. How the other media take thevideogram market now on a full‐scale slump is an urgent issue forthe industry.
150.0

193

(million)

155

138.8
135.8
127.8

129.4
117.6

120.0

159
164
135

152

136
139
123

103.1
93.3

90.0

128
103

103

77.3

67
50
30
20
16 16
18
12 15 15 19 16

025

37 39 45

42 43

21 22

32 32
6 3 1420 27 26 22 24
1 6 5 11 12 13 11 12 15 13 10 14 14 1541
24 37 33
37 31

40 50

26 28 30 2735

42 37 41 35

400
570.0

504.9 530.5
435.0 433.7 461.7

01

02

200

597.4

536.4 559.7

655.2
627.4 594.3
579.4 562.7
573.2 598.5

51
40 46 42 39

66 64

84 91

76

66 60

78

90

90

56 63

78.8

30.0

Based on the survey conducted by the Association of Japanese Animations

05

06

07

08

10

09

11

12

13

14

15

16

In 2016, the size of the Japanese animation distribution market via the Internet was ¥47.6
billion, increasing by 9% over the previous year. Some thought the market, growing
continuously through the 2000s, would take over the animation videograms market; however,
it is more practical to see that the videograms market remains parallel with the distribution
market, just like analog records did. Animation works via Internet distribution are mainly
targeted to a general audience while those in the videograms market are targeted to anime fancommunities, though the market shrinkage is unavoidable. Thanks to those differences, theJapanese animation market has been diversified.
(billion
yen)
50

0.0

63 ● 65 ● ● ● ● 70 ● ● ● ● 75 ● ● ● ● 80 ● ● ● ● 85 ● ● ● ● 90 ● ● ● ● 95 ● ● ● ● 00 ● ● ● ● 05 ● ● ● ● 10 ● ● ● ● 15 16

04

The animation distribution market grew continuously in a mutual complementary
relationship with the videograms market.

108
72

03

Animation distribution via the Internet (2002-2016)

115.3
111.3 108.5 105.9
107.6
105.2
102.1
92.8

60.0

54

33 39 36 32

600(billion yen)Calculated by the Association of Japanese Animations based on the data from “CharaBiz DATA” (2001‐2017)92
53 48 49

The size of the Japanese merchandising market related to animation characters shrunk to¥562.7 billion, which was 97.1% of its size in the previous year. This was because digitalproducts (especially application games) were not included in the data. Actually, the overallmarket size (i.e. the revenues of animation studios) increased significantly. Surely consumers
are losing their appetites for real products along with the shift to digital products. From now on,
it is essential for character merchandising businesses to build a new business scheme
incorporating digital products.

0

195
159

100

43 48 50

Themarketsizeshrunkduetotheshiftfromrealproductstodigitalproducts.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Based on the report conducted by Japan Video Software Association

40
30
20
10
0

0.2

1.0

1.8

4.1

02

03

04

05

8.4

9.8

06

07

10.2

12.3

14.9

16.0

08

09

10

11

27.2

12

34.0

13

40.8

43.7

47.8

14

15

16

Based on the survey conducted by the Association of Japanese Animations

The market size exceeded 2 trillion yen for the first time!
All the necessary information is in this report!

Anime Industry 2017

We, the Association of Japanese Animations, are engaged in research, surveyance, and analysis of markets in connection
with the Japanese animation industry. We have also published the “Anime Industry Report” since 2009 in order todisseminate information about the industry to the world.
As the result of the survey for this report, the market size reached 2.009 trillion, increasing by 9.9% yearly over last year andrecording the largest result consecutively for the past four years.
The main trends were the growth of Movies (up 41.1%), Overseas (up 31.6%)and Live Entertainment (up 29.5%). Internet
Distribution and Music also increased by approximately 10%.
The “Anime Industry Report 2017” is the report for trends in the Japanese animation industry, including that of respective
media, in 2016, and is issued with “All Animation Works Perfect Data” as an appendix. So far, this reliable data has been
adapted as the basis for official materials such as the Media Fine Arts Database by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
■Outline【Title】
Anime Industry 2017
【Publisher】
The Association of Japanese Animations【Release day】
October 24, 2017
【Size/Pages】
A4 / 80P (the report), 80P (appendix) + 4 chart sheets inserted【Price】
6,000 yen （tax excluded）【Index】
1. Overview of the Japanese animation industry in 2016
*Overall market trends, domestic industrial movements and notable trends
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 Overseas Markets*Japanese animation in the global market, Japanese animation production
Appendix: All Animation Works Perfect Data in 2015
*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, and Distribution Map of Japanese Animation Studios
Available at the following:
Order via SPI Information website【Downloadable version】
http://www.spi‐information.com/report/17362.html【Physical book】
http://www.spi‐information.com/report/17361.html
Physical Stores:
AKIBA INFO. × TOKYO ATOM ‐ INFORMATION & SHOP ‐Akihabara UDX 2F, Sotokanda 4-14-1, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Kyoto International Manga Museum
Karasuma‐Oike, Nagakyo‐ku, Kyoto Japan *The site of the former Kagoike Elementary School※The back issues (2009 version – 2015 version) are also available at the stores above.
SPI Information’s web site：http://www.spi‐information.com/

The Association of Japanese Animations Address: Akihabara UDX 4F, 4-14-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda‐ku, Tokyo
URL: http://aja.gr.jp/

E‐mail: office@aja.gr.jp

Phone: +81-3-5298-7501

Fax: +81-3-5298-0041