Today, The Insights Family, the global leader in kids, parents and young adult market insights, has launched the Anime Playbook: Opportunities for Kids & Young Adult Audiences. This report analyses global anime trends, fanbase attitudes, and purchasing behaviours, drawing on data from over 800,000 family members across 21 markets.

With global anime revenues surpassing $22bn in 2023 (as reported by The Japanese Association of Animation), anime’s influence continues to grow, reaching fans across ages and borders. Thanks to streaming platforms like Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu, anime has become more accessible than ever, appealing to kids, teens, and young adults alike. This growing fanbase is transforming anime into a powerful cultural force, creating new opportunities for entertainment, fashion, and consumer products.

Key findings from the Anime Playbook include:

• ANIME RESILIENCE AMONG 3-18s: Anime consistently ranks among the top three TV show/film types for 3-18-year-olds across the 21 countries we survey, taking the top spot in seven of them.
• EMERGING ANIME MARKETS: The countries where anime has seen the greatest increase in popularity among 6-12-year-olds are in the EMEA region, highlighting the growing demand for anime content outside its domestic market.
• DIFFERENT PLATFORMS, SIMILAR TYPES: Anime fans in key countries show similar preferences for TV show/film genres – primarily those linked to the supernatural – but the platforms and devices they favour vary significantly by country, emphasising the importance of localised distribution strategies.
• GREATER DEMAND FOR LICENSED PRODUCTS: Anime fans have a higher-than-average demand for toys, games, and video games based on their favourite TV shows, making this audience particularly attractive for licensing strategies.

The Anime Playbook equips media organisations and brands with the data and insights needed to navigate strategic decisions in anime content acquisition and licensing and is free to download now: https://go.theinsightsfamily.com/animeplaybook

Live Webinar – 12 December
Adam Woodgate,  VP of Research Solutions and kids’ media expert with over 30 years of experience, will host an exclusive webinar to dive deeper into the findings of the Anime Playbook on Thursday, 12 December 2024, at 3PM GMT / 10AM EST.  Register here.