Studio Chizu President and producer Yuichiro Saito warned that the Japanese anime {industry}’s heavy dependence on manga variations might pose long-term dangers, regardless of the medium’s present international increase.
Saito made the remarks throughout an animation convention held on the inaugural Aichi–Nagoya Worldwide Animation Movie Pageant (ANIAFF), the place Kodansha Senior Enterprise Strategist Jessica Pourse was additionally current.
Talking on a panel titled “What Is Japanese Anime? What Is Occurring within the World At the moment?” Saito mentioned the anime {industry} is clearly experiencing a interval of robust abroad growth, pushed partly by streaming platforms and high-profile successes.
In accordance with information from the Affiliation of Japanese Animations (AJA), the worldwide anime market reached a report USD 25.1 billion in 2024, a 15% enhance from the earlier yr. Nonetheless, this development was pushed virtually totally by established franchises.
In 2025, the North American and Japanese field workplaces had been dominated by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Film: Infinity Fort, which earned over USD 722 million globally. Different high performers included Chainsaw Man – The Film: Reze Arc, which as soon as once more is customized from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s fashionable manga.
Whereas acknowledging manga as an important inventive supply that has lengthy supported anime manufacturing, Saito warned that an “overreliance on current mental property is unhealthy for the {industry}.” In accordance with him, anime’s existence is intently tied to manga’s inventive output presently, elevating issues about what might occur if that ecosystem weakens.
Saito added that the international rise of webtoons and the growing variety of anime-style works being produced exterior Japan current further challenges.
Focusing On Authentic Anime Titles:
The panel then highlighted the significance of authentic works in sustaining the medium, with Saito emphasizing the necessity to protect authentic storytelling, creating narratives from the bottom up primarily based on inventive philosophy relatively than established manufacturers.
“Manga variations are great, however we should additionally maintain alive the flame of authentic storytelling—creating narratives from zero primarily based on our personal philosophy.”
Pourse supported this view by drawing on her expertise at Anime Restricted, stating that earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic, authentic anime movies typically carried out strongly in abroad markets.
“Earlier than the pandemic, authentic movies really carried out higher on the abroad field workplace than IP-based works. We targeted on branding administrators—Makoto Shinkai, Mamoru Hosoda, Masaaki Yuasa, Naoko Yamada—as auteurs. Authentic works opened markets first, creating fertile floor for IP titles to later achieve broader acceptance.”
Nonetheless, the desire for adapting manga stems from a want for minimal ensures of success. The historic gross sales of a manga sequence serves as a major indicator for a manufacturing committee’s potential return on funding. Conversely, authentic works carry considerably larger monetary dangers, as they lack a built-in viewers to ensure viewership.
This reliance on confirmed IP has grow to be a survival technique as studios navigate what’s characterised as a “profitless increase.” Whereas industry-wide revenues reached all-time highs, 34.5% of Japanese animation studios reported that their working bills exceeded their revenue, citing hovering manufacturing prices pushed by the demand for larger cinematic high quality and a persistent labor scarcity.
As a result of authentic works require extra time and monetary backing to construct a model from zero, many studios may discover it troublesome to justify the danger.
Saito too acknowledged that investing in authentic tasks has grow to be more and more troublesome worldwide, however warned that abandoning them would weaken anime’s inventive core. He added that to be able to maintain the {industry}, Japan should put money into new inventive works, tackle labor points throughout the {industry}, and strengthen training for future creators and audiences.
His remarks align with the broader inventive strategy related to Studio Chizu, the studio he co-founded with director Mamoru Hosoda, which has constructed its filmography totally on authentic works.
The studio’s first function movie, Wolf Kids, co-produced with Madhouse and launched in 2012, earned roughly $55 million and gained the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the 12 months. It was adopted by The Boy and the Beast in 2015, which gained the identical award, and Mirai in 2018, which acquired an Academy Award nomination for Greatest Animated Function and one other Japan Academy Prize.
Hosoda’s 2021 movie Belle premiered on the Cannes Movie Pageant, the place it acquired a 14-minute standing ovation, earlier than its theatrical releases in Japan and the USA.
Supply: Branc Japan
