Latin Americans are the biggest anime fans, according to new streaming research by BB Media marketing and press analyst Mercedes García.
When analyzing by region, BB Media found that Latin America has the highest number of users who choose anime as their favorite genre (28%), followed by the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region (17% on average, with Japan specifically at 34%), the United States and Canada (UCAN) region (16%), and the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region (12%). In all these regions, young people between 16 and 24 years old most often indicate anime as their preference. APAC stands out as the only region where women have a higher percentage of favoritism toward the genre compared to men (19%).
BB Media currently monitors 3,312 unique anime titles that are available and categorized as such on nearly 1,500 platforms around the world. Out of these contents, 2,298 are series and 1,014 are movies. This trend is due to the fact that the anime industry tends to focus more on TV productions, as they allow for more time to develop a story, García notes. The release of anime productions has been increasing over the years and reached its peak in 2018.
It’s not surprising that Japan has the largest
It’s not surprising that Japan has the largest anime content offering, with 3,022 titles available in the country. Among titles of Japanese origin, 23% are categorized as anime titles available globally. Most of these titles remain exclusive to Japan.
Interestingly, the other countries leading the ranking in terms of anime supply are all English-speaking: the United States (2,096), Canada (1,900), the United Kingdom (1,532), Australia (1,522) and New Zealand (1,414).
Specialized streaming platforms for anime have now become the second most common type of niche content platform, surpassed only by documentary platforms. However, among the major worldwide platforms offering exclusively anime content, none were found to be of Japanese origin, according to García. Crunchyroll, founded in the United States in 2006, is available in more than 100 countries and holds the greatest market presence. Funimation, HiDive, and Retrocrush are other Anime platforms from the United States, but with less coverage. Anime Onegai, established in 2020, is available in six Latin American countries and is exclusive to the audience in this region. Wakanim, founded in 2009 in France, is accessible to users in France, Germany, and Nordic countries. AnimeBox, a recent launch from 2023, is of Spanish origin.
Just as there are streaming platforms that specialize
Just as there are streaming platforms that specialize in anime content, there are others that have a vast library of anime despite it not being their primary focus. VideoMarket holds the top position in this list, with 2,132 anime titles in its catalog. It’s followed by U-NEXT (2,037), Amazon’s rental service (2,021), Rakuten TV (1,885), and FOD (1,086). Among these services, only U-NEXT and Rakuten TV originate from Japan.
“One of the key moments on the path to anime’s consolidation as mainstream content could be traced back to the 2002 Academy Awards, when Spirited Away won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, making it the first and only of its kind to achieve this,” García notes. “However, this can be seen as either a significant accomplishment or an isolated case, but it’s important to remember that many other similar [titles] have been nominated and awarded at various events like the Golden Globe Awards and the Saturn Awards.”
The most awarded anime titles in recent years include “My Hero Academy” (14 awards), Your Name (12 awards), “Attack on Titan” (11 awards), In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (nine awards each).
Critical acclaim has been crucial in establishing anime
“Critical acclaim has been crucial in establishing anime as a form of art and content production,” García notes.
“Anime has transcended borders, attracted followers from all around the world, and carved a place for itself in various streaming libraries,” she adds. “Therefore, it can be said that Anime has successfully connected with global audiences and has found its spot as an ever-evolving cultural phenomenon.”
Source: www.mediaplaynews.com
