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If your Netflix queue has started featuring more anime titles lately, it is no coincidence. Japanese animation movies and television series, aimed at adults as well as children, are moving from niche to mainstream. This growth reflects a calculated strategic shift by Asian media companies, particularly Sony.
Behind the scenes, companies have been betting big on anime’s long-term commercial viability. Sony has been leading here, investing in the category and positioning it as the foundation of the group’s entertainment model.
At the centre of this strategy is Crunchyroll, the Japanese conglomerate’s US-based streaming platform. Unlike services such as Netflix or Disney+, where anime is one category among many, Crunchyroll has a narrower focus. It also hosts anime fan conventions, sells merchandise, licenses soundtracks and is capitalising on Sony’s intellectual property by creating anime adaptations of PlayStation games. Since acquiring Crunchyroll in 2021 for around $1.2bn, Sony’s paid subscriber base has more than tripled to over 17mn by March 2025, making it the largest of the niche streaming platforms.
The phenomenon is gaining traction worldwide. The global anime market overall grew to a record ¥3.4tn ($23bn) in 2023, according to the Association of Japanese Animations, led by growth in international markets. More than half of all anime revenue now comes from outside Japan. Sony estimates there are more than 1bn fans outside Japan and China, and that number is expected to double by 2030, a trajectory few other media categories can match.
The anime craze is already translating into cross-selling opportunities. Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles, a video game based on a hit anime franchise, has sold more than 4mn copies globally. The model is self-sustaining. Anime drives interest in games, games bring new audiences to anime and both drive engagement across merchandise, music and streaming. Exclusive anime-based titles also help differentiate PlayStation in a competitive game console market.
This strategy is already delivering results. Sony reported record earnings of ¥1.14tn ($7.8bn) for the year to March, an 18 per cent increase from the previous year. Much of that momentum came from its games business, where operating income rose 43 per cent, thanks to digital sales and commercial leverage of anime-linked intellectual property.
Anime may have started as a niche genre, but Sony is turning it into one of the most effective drivers of value creation in global media. By owning the content, platform and revenue channels, the Japanese group has an edge that its peers will struggle to replicate.
