According to the “2022 Animation Industry Report”, the growth rate of the overseas market is close to 6%, an increase of 74 billion yen. It is the most significantly growing market in the Japanese animation industry.
Osaka, Japan (Business Northeast) – Within the Japanese animation market, the dominant position is held by overseas market, commanding an impressive 47.8% share. Merchandising is closely followed in the second position, securing a notable 24.1%. The Pachinko and related experiences occupy the third slot, capturing 11.1%. The inflow of revenue from the overseas market emanates predominantly from movie, TV, videograms, and MD releases, among other film and television endeavors. Since 2015, overseas ventures have consistently assumed the role of paramount importance within the animation market, providing incontrovertible evidence of the growing affinity of international audiences toward Japanese animation.
The exportation of animated content and cinematic productions to diverse nations augments the animation sector’s gross output value and catalyzes the influx of tourists to Japan, thereby significantly bolstering the sales of animation-associated merchandise. Following the formal inauguration of liberalized tourism, the influx of foreign tourists has experienced a marked uptick. Anime, serving as a prime impetus, ranks among the chief factors compelling many tourists to choose Japan. Animation merchandise stores, restaurants, parks, theme parks, and even museums dedicated to displaying many famous animations have become one of the favorite attractions for animation lovers.
The 13th floor of Osaka Umeda Daimaru Department Store gathers the most famous animation stores, including Pokémon Center, Nintendo, ONE PIECE MUGIWARA STORE, CAPCOM STORE & CAFE UMEDA, TOMICA Shop, and PLARAIL Shop. During the summer vacation, many people flooded in, and the customers had to go to the scene to collect tickets for the reserved time, waiting an average of 1-3 hours. There are tourists from various countries in the store, which shows that the animation store has become an important tourist attraction for overseas tourists to Japan.
In addition, Pokémon Cafe is also very popular among fans. Every meal in the cafe is designed concerning the appearance of each Pokémon. The meals are not only cute but also delicious. No matter in the Pokémon restaurant in Tokyo or Osaka, there are many Pokémon dining with fans and Pikachu dancing on the spot, bringing great joy to the children. It is not easy for fans to dine at the Pokémon Cafe. They need to make reservations on the official website a month in advance. Many people said: “This cafe is difficult to make reservations.”
In addition to all kinds of fantasy, adventure, and cute characters, Japanese animation is better at designing real-world vehicles, ships, etc., into anime characters. In the anime called Shinkalion, all the names of train stations, trains, and places in Japan are taken from all over Japan. The shapes of the characters are also designed concerning the conditions of different Shinkansen trains. Japan has a complete railway system, which makes it easy for tourists to complete self-guided travel. Railway animation fans can meet the expectations of animation fans and railway fans by taking various means of transportation, participating in peripheral activities, and visiting multiple railway museums. In the Kyoto Railway Museum, a tourist from Taiwan said: “I finally saw this character and the railway headquarters in the anime, and I feel super excited.”
The overseas market of Japanese animation is growing year by year, and various animation content can be seen on TV or movies in many countries. In Japan, the animation market has exquisite physical stores and diversified peripheral products, which will attract more and more anime fans to travel to Japan. The recovery of tourism will increase the market value of the animation. Conversely, the popularity of energy will also bring positive forces to the tourism market.
