Anyone who has been an anime / manga fan in America for 10 years or so has been witness to one of the greatest commercial popular import success stories across any segment of society in recent times. If you think about it, it usually goes the other way, right? The influence of the great global cultural machine that is America is so compromising in some countries, that a few have sought to limit it's encroachment (and even the encroachment of English Language) into native society. It's a rare occasion when America adopts an outside cultural import on a wide scale, but when it happens, commercial advertising and word of mouth is sure spread the message. Anime and Manga's popularity here owes about 90% of it's current success to word of mouth advertising in my opinion. Anime and Manga fan culture in the U.S. started out as a fan niche with individuals coming together to screen the newest shows. A few that hungout decided it was so important in their lives they would make clubs. Some took it a step beyond formulating other people could be made to think the stuff was so cool they could make money on it and formed companies to import it. The early 90's saw what I believe to be the single greatest catalyst in the development of the culture here and internationally outside of Japan and that is the internet. With the internet, distance became irrelevant in fan interaction and regardless if you knew someone in close physical proximity to discuss and get into anime with or not you really didn't need to. Internet fandom comprised the biggest anime club ever and the greatest facilitator for fan interaction to date. There one fan could let his thoughts be heard by thousands of others on newsgroups or messageboards and could also read the thoughts of thousands of others.
Every year for the last five or so years I've heard in interactions with fans and corporate reps that anime is so much more popular than it "used" to be. Certainly the growth in popularity and sales cannot be easily denied but can it's gross impact be as easily assessed? Looking back over 10 years where anime fandom and commercial activity have taken this walk and profits / activity because of it has excelled virtually geometrically into the stratosphere, one question has seemingly never been answered by any sector or quarter. Namely, How Big Is It? How Big Is The Anime Market In America? Globally?
I know I'm not the first person to ponder the question but the research seems to indicate no one has ever answered it and the knowledge translated to the public sphere! The facts show that while everyone knows the commercial side is growing, no numbers, no data (or even estimates) has ever been released to substantiate the notion. Not only is the current size and state of growth of the industry an apparent mystery but all states of size and growth previous are also apparently unknown because again, no company or group has tallied or released the data and the knowledge made it to the public. So with anime in America we have this runaway phenomena, the values of which no one really knows anything about.... or do they?
So if the info is not out there why is this? Honestly, why there has never been any info on the size of the anime market is a mystery in and of itself. Most companies licensing and selling anime are privately owned and those types of companies are not always necessarily obligated to release their sales figures to the public, this could be one reason. Another reason could be because the above is the case no one company is willing to tip and show it's hand with the likely possibility of all other parties keeping their own data confidential. Another possibility is if info on the growing size of the industry were to get out there, other parties with commercial ambitions not currently interested might take a second look.
Aside from video sales we have an assortment of related industries such as manga, action figures, toys, various other merchandise, and now music on CD is taking off. How do sales in these sectors figure in. All told will the market size of Anime and Manga in America ever be known? As of May 2002 we can only ask the question.
All Stories, Graphics And Material © Jonah Morgan - Anime News Service Unless Otherwise Cited
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