Disney Invests in Anime but Limits Marketing to Asia
Disney's reluctance to market its growing anime catalog outside Asia creates a self-fulfilling cycle where low viewership data justifies further underinvestment, despite the company holding exclusive rights to high-profile titles.
Reporting from 1 sources: Anime By The Numbers.
Disney is expanding its anime library, securing exclusive streaming rights to roughly 2-3% of new anime production through a long-term output deal with Kodansha. However, the company's marketing and promotion for these titles remains heavily concentrated in Asia, leaving global audiences largely unaware of the expansion. The upcoming series "Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation," a wholly Japanese-produced original anime featuring multiple Disney intellectual properties, exemplifies this strategy. Despite being announced nearly four years ago and having a major presence at AnimeJapan 2025 in Tokyo, Disney only recently confirmed its global streaming availability to outlets like Variety and Deadline, just two months before its premiere. Other titles, such as "Bullet/Bullet" from "Jujutsu Kaisen" director Sunghoo Park, received English-language promotion only from the Disney+ Singapore YouTube channel. Disney+ monthly release calendars in July detailed numerous documentaries and resort walkthroughs but omitted anime titles. On Hulu, anime remains a tertiary focus within the Animayhem brand. This limited marketing has led fans to describe anime on Disney+ as being in "Disney Jail."
Disney has secured exclusive streaming rights to roughly 2-3% of all new anime produced, largely through a long-term output deal with major Japanese publisher Kodansha. Despite this, the company's marketing efforts for these titles are almost entirely confined to Asia. The upcoming "Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation" is a key example: a wholly Japanese-produced original anime that weaves multiple Disney IPs into its story and characters. The series was announced nearly four years ago and had a significant presence at AnimeJapan 2025 in Tokyo, but Disney only confirmed its global streaming availability to English-language outlets like Variety and Deadline in August, just two months before its October premiere.
This pattern extends to other titles. "Bullet/Bullet," a new original anime from "Jujutsu Kaisen" director Sunghoo Park, was released on Disney platforms in July. However, the only English-language trailer or promotion published by Disney came from the Disney+ Singapore YouTube channel. Disney+ monthly release calendars for July detailed over a dozen shark-related documentaries and various Disneyland Resort walkthroughs but neglected to mention any anime titles. On Hulu, anime is positioned as a tertiary focus within the Animayhem brand, even at events like Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con. This corporate disinterest has led fans to describe anime on Disney+ as being stuck in "Disney Jail."
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime By The Numbers Disney is going big on anime – but only in Asia