Simon Cress
In the late 1990s, there was an anime boom in Western markets. In the United States and United Kingdom, in particular, TV channels aimed at Millennials began to heavily feature translated animated shows from Japan. The likes of Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon, Digimon, and Sailor Moon took over pop culture, and the impact of these shows has clearly had a residual effect on the audience that now commands the glut of consumer spending power.
According to the stats complied in this report by Crunchyroll, which commands an army of over 15 million subscribers, 94 percent of Millennials have heard of anime, 66 percent are familiar with it, 41 percent watch at least once per month, and 25 percent watch weekly. Anime is incredibly appealing to those born from 1980 to 1994, and it’s showing in the hit entertainment products of this year.
Tapping into the 90s Popularity of “Japanimation”
Better known as anime and manga now, the “Japanimation” trend of the 1990s has left a significant lasting impact. There are many headlines about new audiences getting into and going all-in on new Manga and Anime productions, but much of what has brought the content to the West has been the enduring fandom among Millennials.
You can see this in other productions aimed at Millennials and the success of productions that hark back to the hits of the 1990s. Easily the clearest place to see this influence is in online casino slots. As you can see in the number one site for them, boasting a perfect review score, there are games like Starlight Riches, Starlight Princess 1000, Moon Princess, and Clash of Heroes.
While streaming is all the rage these days, it was hit movies at the cinema and on TV that helped to further power Millennials into becoming anime super-fans. Studio Ghibli is the biggest names to make the big break into Western Markets. The likes of Princess Mononoke and Pom Poko all laid the foundations for The Boy and the Heron reaching a whopping $293 million worldwide.
Ready to Tap into Millennials with a Huge Anime Play
One of the greatest hits for Millennials on the way up was The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The movies set new standards across the board and have yet to be surpassed. There’s even a $1 billion show out there now heavily copying from the trilogy and failing to meet any standard for quality – especially by comparison. Still, producers know that they can tap into the Millennial love of those films and Tolkien’s world, as well as Anime.
That’s what we’ll be getting at the end of the year. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will showcase a melding of Millennial fascinations, with Kenji Kamiyama directing the tale of Helm Hammerhand and the war between the men of Rohan, the Dunlendings, and the other adversarial factions of the Third Age. The fact that it’s animated in the distinct style of Japanese anime shows the audience it’s aiming to capture.
Anime was a big part of growing up as a Millennial, and now, following the continued growth of Japanese animated content finding success in the West, we’ll see the ultimate combination with The War of the Rohirrim.
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