Aniplex President Iwakami to Become Sony Music CEO in April
The appointment signals Sony Music's shift toward positioning itself as a broader entertainment company, with anime and visual media now driving a majority of its revenue.
Animenomics
Industry
Original Anime Films Struggle at the Box Office
The polarization in Japan's anime film market threatens the viability of original films as a proving ground for new creative talent, as budget-strapped productions struggle to compete with franchise blockbusters.
Animenomics
Cross-Border E-Commerce Fills Gap in Overseas Anime Market
The shift toward cross-border e-commerce signals that Japan's domestic anime merchandise market may be approaching saturation, pushing sellers to treat overseas fans as a primary revenue source rather than a secondary one.
Animenomics
TV Asahi Sets Goal to Double Anime Production by 2030
TV Asahi is restructuring its core business model from linear broadcasting to IP ownership, a strategic shift that mirrors broader industry moves toward production committee leadership and global licensing.
Animenomics
Japan Manga Market Shrinks for First Time Since 2017
The data signals that digital manga growth can no longer reliably compensate for print declines, forcing publishers to confront a shrinking overall market for the first time in nearly a decade.
Animenomics
Anime Producers Build In-House Film Distribution Systems
By cutting out middlemen, anime producers can keep more revenue from the booming domestic box office, which saw the top fourteen films earn ¥90.1 billion in 2025.
Animenomics
Anime Home Video Sales Plummet 31 Percent in 2025
The 34 percent sales decline marks the fastest drop in at least 25 years, confirming that the home video market has become a secondary revenue stream as streaming dominates anime consumption.
Animenomics
Japan Fair Trade Commission Report Targets Anime Industry Labor Practices
The JFTC's willingness to create formal guidelines marks a potential shift from industry self-regulation toward government oversight of how production committees, studios, and streamers share risk and revenue.
Animenomics
Direct Distribution of Anime Films Widens in North America
Japanese companies are moving from licensing to direct distribution of anime films in North America to capture a larger share of box office revenue, as the region's market for anime grows.
Animenomics
Link-U Technologies Pivots to AI-Assisted Manga App Development
Link-U's shift to AI-assisted development could accelerate how quickly Japanese publishers launch digital manga platforms overseas, potentially changing the competitive dynamics of the global digital manga market.
Animenomics
Nielsen Report Says Anime Fans Are High-Value, Underestimated Consumers
The report reframes anime fandom from a niche content preference to a financially powerful, cross-platform consumer identity that traditional media companies are struggling to replicate elsewhere.
Cartoon Brew
Playstack, Publisher of Balatro, Acquired for Approximately 24 Billion Yen
The acquisition places a prominent indie publisher under the same corporate umbrella as major gaming media and review platforms, raising questions about editorial independence and cross-promotional dynamics.
Automaton
Weekly Round-Up: Crunchyroll Layoffs, MangaONE Pulls, and Tamon's Fangirls
The simultaneous Crunchyroll restructuring and Takahashi's quiet withdrawal from MangaONE signal ongoing industry instability and creator pushback against publisher accountability.
Anime Feminist
AniFem Round-Up Covers Oshi No Ko, Shogakukan Controversy, and More
The round-up bundles a major industry scandal (Shogakukan's handling of a creator's sexual assault case) with a labor dispute (Capcom refusing union terms for a voice actor) and a survey on declining birth rates, showing how anime and manga news intersects with broader social and legal issues.
Anime Feminist
MAPPA to Absorb Subsidiary Studio Contrail in April 2026
The merger consolidates MAPPA's production capacity under one roof while keeping Contrail's brand identity alive, signaling a structural shift rather than a full dissolution.
MAPPA
Prime Video Aims to Become Global Anime Destination
By securing worldwide rights to two iconic franchises and framing anime as a global priority alongside Korean and Indian content, Prime Video is positioning itself as a direct competitor to Netflix and Crunchyroll in the streaming anime market.
Deadline Anime
Remow Launches It's Anime FAST Channel on Samsung TV Plus
Remow's expansion into a dedicated anime FAST channel signals the growing viability of ad-supported streaming as a distribution model for Japanese animation in North America, moving beyond the subscription-based services that have dominated the market.
Deadline
Netflix Unveils 2026 Japanese Slate With 13 Series, 8 Anime, 3 Films and Live Baseball
The scale of the slate and the Toho studio deal signal that Netflix is betting its Japanese content strategy on local-language live-action production as much as on anime, treating Japan as both a domestic growth market and an export hub for global audiences.
The Hollywood Reporter
Toonz Media Group and 1st Place Strike Anime Production Pact
The pact positions an Indian studio as a production solution for Japanese anime, a sector facing a labor crunch amid a global streaming boom.
Deadline
P.A. Works Launches 25th Anniversary Crowdfunding With Event Tickets
This crowdfunding marks the first time P.A. Works has directly invited fans to co-fund an anniversary celebration, bundling exclusive access to its physical studio and staff with commemorative products.
P.A. Works
Toho Acquires UK Distributor Anime Limited, Establishes European HQ in London
With this acquisition, Toho now has direct distribution subsidiaries in North America, Europe, and Asia, completing a global infrastructure that lets it bypass third-party licensors for its own anime and live-action IP in all major regions.
Deadline, Otaku News
Medialink Group Launches Japan Subsidiary in IP Expansion
The launch positions Medialink to directly invest in and acquire Japanese IP, moving beyond its previous role as a regional distributor and licensor.
Variety Anime
CloverWorks and A-1 Pictures Open New Animation Studio FLINT BASE in April 2026
The creation of a shared animation studio by two major Aniplex subsidiaries, with Sony Group backing, signals a structural investment in training new animators rather than relying solely on outsourcing or freelance talent.
A-1 Pictures, CloverWorks
Amazon MGM Studios Hires Warner Bros. Discovery Veteran Buddy Marini to Lead Japan
Marini's background founding a manga platform and running Hulu Japan gives Amazon MGM Studios an executive with direct experience in both anime production and Japanese streaming, at a time when Prime Video has publicly stated it wants to become the top global platform for anime.
Variety Japan, Deadline Anime