Japanese anime is a rapidly growing form of entertainment media. Ever since the first anime in 1917 titled “Namakura Gatana” was released as a short film, anime has grown in popularity in Japan. Now, its growth has reached overseas in several countries, including the USA. From titles such as Astro Boy, Bleach, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Naruto, every generation has experienced Japanese influence at some point in time, worldwide, in the form of anime. So, what does the future hold for this timeless gem?
The “Old Days” of Anime
From the 1980s to the early 2000s, anime often followed a print-to-video model. Most anime begins as a manga, which is a comic book-style novel. If manga sales were successful, then a TV series or a movie would be developed through syndication. High TV ratings would lead to movies or specials, reaching TV or theaters in distribution. Large audiences in international markets would lead to dubbing voice-overs and translations of their products into several languages, following the same manga and video framework. After release into theaters or televised specials, VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray sales would follow. However, this is changing.
The Pandemic and Anime
During the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the entire world, commerce in the entertainment sector took a drastic shift to streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll, to name a few. In the anime market, this was noticeable with a very iconic anime known as Sailor Moon, with its rebooted title called Sailor Moon Crystal.
The series followed closely with its manga, which differs from its anime counterpart from the early 1990s. Sailor Moon Crystal successfully released 3 televised seasons in both Japanese and its English dubbed version, but the release of the fourth season had to undergo a different change. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, production shifted from a TV series release to a two-part movie, with the final season being turned into a two-part movie as well. These four movies aired on streaming platforms, and this is where the trend begins to shift.
The Great Shift
After the pandemic, DVD and Blu-ray distributions shifted to mostly streaming, with a new marketing plan, which other Japanese anime titles would follow. The new trend borrows from the flow of manga to anime in terms of TV syndications and distributions, with streaming included as well, but now, theatrical distribution becomes a caveat in the new plan. An anime’s TV and Streaming deal to air its season would then follow with a theatrical film release of the next season cut as a movie. Two anime titles that fit this description are Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man.
Recently, Demon Slayer ended its fourth season and made its fifth season into a movie called Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, distributing both English dub and Japanese language versions to several theaters worldwide, giving fans a choice to see one or both versions of the same movie. The final season of Demon Slayer has plans to be a three-part movie in the future.
After Chainsaw Man’s first season, which consisted of twelve episodes aired on TV Tokyo, its second season was cut into a movie called Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, which is derived from the manga. The movie’s runtime is approximately one hour and forty minutes in length, and was done in 3D. The addition of 3D in anime movies further adds to the overall experience the fanbase would have with these intellectual properties.
How Anime Movies Were Different
Previously, most anime movies were not based on the manga, but after the pandemic and with increased streaming on platforms, the industry capitalised on TV, streaming, and theatrical releases by including canonical seasons. For example, with the TV series Dragon Ball Z, the movie Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan was not part of the manga’s main story and is one of 17 non-canon Dragon Ball films. With the Dragon Ball Super TV series, the movies Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero became canon to the tale of the manga. Including these two titles, four movies in total were released in theaters that are based on the Dragon Ball manga.
Future Trends
These trends gave birth to an adjusted distribution model of an anime adapted from a manga as an episodic series, to a movie adapted from the manga, based on the entire season of the series, to be followed as a whole. This new model in animation provides the fanbase with an increased motivation to go to the cinemas, thereby increasing profitability and brand awareness internationally. Expect more Japanese titles to follow the same marketing plan dynamic from manga to TV/streaming series to cinema in repetition.
