Anime Market In US Shrinks By 42% In Four Years
The anime market in US mostly consists of the sales of the character goods and it is strongly affected by the popularity of Pocket Monster series. The drop between 2003 and 2004 and the slight increase in 2007 reflected the business status of Pokemon. JETRO concluded that US anime market won't expand without the appearance of another big hit title comparable to Pokemon.
Ref1. US Anime DVD Sales Ranking For 2006 (The relative indexes are calculated assuming the sales of the top title as 100)
Ref2. US Anime DVD Sales Ranking For 2007 (The relative indexes are calculated assuming the sales of the top title as 100)
Source: JETRO
20 of 40 Comments Recent Comments
Heh. Most of the stuff otakus hate are in the list.
Apr 14, 2009 5:28 AM by Unregistered00
Yeah, but the Japanese get it for 'free' and still buy.
They likely pay for cable.
U.S. anime companies are starting to understand people would rather download fan-subs than wait months for localization. so, companies are just translating the titles and streaming the anime, at least that's what FUNimation doing with Fullmetal Alchemist.
The next step would be to have a TV channel that airs anime in a timely fashion from it's original release.
People in general just don't have the money to buy 15-20 dollar DVD's for 3-4 episodes of a particular anime series.
Apr 14, 2009 12:18 AM by Eva-kun
Considering how the economy has been, would you risk it?
Apr 14, 2009 12:04 AM by AngelND
If it declined it's cause of torrents and shit.
Sorry but I think you came to the wrong conclusion there. If anything torrents are improving the industry by making its contents more accessible. I wouldn't be spending myself silly on DVD's if I didn't get to see what the show was like at first.
Also Anime North is just a month away and you can bet I'll be spending at least $1k on DVD's there; and most of the stuff on my shelf was never aired in North America. Am I only allowed to watch crap shows like Pokémon on tv and then just guess as to what DVD's I should buy? Sorry but that's not going to happen.
Apr 13, 2009 3:45 PM by hogkill
Apr 2, 2009 5:06 PM by Tyranid5
Still for more Jap. audio & correct subs, though. I'd buy more DVDs under that, instead of having to buy imports.
Apr 2, 2009 3:58 PM by Anaraine
As far as the argument that they get to watch anime for free and buy dvds, I don't think we can compare because in Japan they pay way more for less episodes. Nothing is truly free. If I remember correctly, it's the dvd sales that really make up the costs for actually making the shows. What happens in the country of dvd distribution is probably trivial anyway but if a nice profit is being made it probably won't hurt.
As far as character goods, if they would branch off a little bit from only selling Naruto, Bleach, and DBZ stuff just maybe I'll buy a few more non-dvd items. Besides, the stuff already in Japan might be better to import.
Apr 2, 2009 3:27 PM by Lil34
Less sales = Less licensing = more fansubs:)
Less licensing =/= more fansubs
Less licensing = same amount of fansubs + fewer dvds
Apr 2, 2009 9:36 AM by Anomalous
"JETRO concluded that US anime market won't expand without the appearance of another big hit title comparable to Pokemon."
no offense, my fellow American friends, but do you guys enjoy watching Pokemon that much? 0.o
No, it's more like everyone thinks cartoons are for children. Therefore only children are really interested in it. Therefore cartoons geared towards children aren't stuck in the niche and thrive.
I consider anime dvds to be "collector's stuff" so I don't really find it that expensive. (I never bought movies to begin with but... I never pirated them either. I just turned on my TV back then.)
As for the bad economy... I don't think that would have had that big of an impact as early as 2007. Though, I can't say for sure as I haven't researched the roots of it and am not an expert of course.
Apr 1, 2009 6:23 PM by asandari
Apr 1, 2009 5:24 PM by MaximumRider
How is the comic book market by the way ?
There was a news about it, but seems like it's gone by the server crash.
Here is the chart of US manga sales from 2004 to 2008.
Red: Total sales of the graphic novels (manga + American comics)
Blue: Sales of Japanese manga
Apr 1, 2009 4:16 PM by dtshyk
If it declined it's cause of torrents and shit.
More anime fans, but fans that are very aware about expense and knowledgable in alternative sources.
How is the comic book market by the way ?
Apr 1, 2009 4:06 PM by nseika
I don't buy anime, so shoot me.
BAKA!!!!!!!!! >:(
Apr 1, 2009 3:57 PM by Neverender
Well, America, in general is getting the crap kicked out of it due to our economy.
THAT also plays a role in the decrease in sale for certain. Technically we SHOULD be buying all sorts of things to help give money back to the government to help balance our economy. (Which is really a wish at this point.) But many people who DO buy the actual 'stuff' spend carelessly and can't pay it back. With that being said, many people do not see Anime as being a Priority in their spending.
Apr 1, 2009 3:55 PM by Hellmonkey
THAT also plays a role in the decrease in sale for certain. Technically we SHOULD be buying all sorts of things to help give money back to the government to help balance our economy. (Which is really a wish at this point.) But many people who DO buy the actual 'stuff' spend carelessly and can't pay it back. With that being said, many people do not see Anime as being a Priority in their spending.
Apr 1, 2009 3:51 PM by MaximumRider
Apr 1, 2009 3:43 PM by HappyPear
Example: brand new movie 19.99-17.99 dollars
Anime: 26.99 - 24.99 for 5 episodes out of 26.
Too Expensive
Apr 1, 2009 3:15 PM by dai9145
I think the fact that many different sites have Dub/Subs hurts the sale of Anime due to the fact that some people think something aling the lines of "Oh, well, I've already seen it so I probably won't watch it again."
Apr 1, 2009 2:36 PM by kuroshiroi
DaBigD said:
If they only released titles with Japanese audio and recognizable fansubs, more people would buy DVDs. I'd certainly like to get my hands on some Toradora DVDs...if subbed.
The majority if not all of the Anime that is sold in America has both Sub and Dub on the same DVDs....
Mod edit: Please do not double post.
Apr 1, 2009 2:17 PM by MaximumRider
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