The world of animation is always evolving. And with new technology, animated movies can only get better and better. The anime industry is one of many industries that are at the center of the world of animation.
Since the explosion of anime’s popularity in the early 80s, the number of anime fans keeps growing every day. Even more so with anime now being more easily accessible and has many genres that appeal to everyone. From science fiction, a slice of life, gory killings, and many more, there is no end to what anime artists are going to create.
So how has the industry grown into a multibillion-dollar industry today? And how did the whole industry go from being niche to mainstream? Before we go further, you should know about the coolest anime characters. Got it? Good! Let’s talk about that briefly.
Hard work and dedication
In the anime industry, there are a few people who are famous for their hard work and dedication to anime or manga. The most famous one is probably Hayao Miyazaki, the mastermind behind Studio Ghibli – the studio where many famous and legendary anime films were created.
Hayao Miyazaki has produced many famous anime films, such as Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, The Wind Rises, Arrietty, and many more awesome films. He started his career back in 1985 and is still active today.
Other famous directors or creators such as Osamu Tezuka, Katsuhiro Otomo, and Mamoru Oshii have produced many awesome films and/or manga as well. Also, there are other people with different professions that have contributed a lot to the industry. I am talking about voice actors, live actors, animators, producers, and more. Everyone that was and is still involved has shaped the industry into what we know today.
The mainstream media and Hollywood
So back in the 80s and early 90s, anime wasn’t really mainstream. Only a small group of people here and there know and watch anime. Even iconic films like Akira, Paprika, etc. weren’t widely known back then.
The success of a video game franchise, “Pokemon,” marked the beginning of the journey of the anime industry to the west and also the whole world. The world started to notice Japanese anime and consider it as one of the driving forces in the entertainment industry.
Of course, Hollywood was starting to notice the popularity of Japanese anime too. In the last fifteen years, there were so many live adaptations of anime being released. The most notable one is “Battle Angel Alita,” which was directed by James Cameron and released in 2019, while the manga, where the inspiration came from, was released in 1990.
Furthermore, the influence of Japanese anime can also be seen in music, video games, comic books, and toys. You can see many references to popular Japanese manga and anime in many mainstream media as well. I reckon the whole anime industry is only going to get bigger from now on.
Anime offers something different and exciting
One thing that makes anime stand out from the rest, is the adventurous nature of the industry. Anime offers more niches and genres that western cartoons and films can’t. For a more mature audience, for example, anime has edgier and unique films and series created for them.
Not to mention other anime films and series that newcomers will find confusing but are actually deeper and more interesting than most stuff that you can find today. Looking for these obscure and niche genres is fun in itself for many anime fans.
Video games and anime is a powerful combination
Another industry that has become mainstream in the last decade is video games. Since many video games are also created in Japan, it is inevitable that they also take some things from anime. Now anime and video games are like one package and this launches the anime industry even higher.
Nowadays, you can find many anime-inspired video games and vice versa. From small indie video games to AAA video games with giant studios backing them. It is understandable and a surprise to no one that the anime industry is now worth multi billions. And looking at it now, the industry can only get bigger with recognition from Hollywood, video game developers, manga creators, the music industry, and millions of anime fans in the world.