Anime Takes Over Western Media
Christopher Ulinfun, staff writer
After many, many years, my prayers have been answered. The day when Japanese films begin their popularity takeover in the western film industry is at an all-time high, especially this year and the year to follow.
It feels like, for the past five years, anime or anime-style movies that have been released have blown up in popularity, even outdoing most Pixar and Disney movies, although not financially. There was “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” back in 2022, “The Boy and the Heron” in 2023 and “My Hero Academia: You’re Next, World Hero’s Mission” in both 2021 and 2024, along with so much more. Recent movies have stood the test of time and are a great must-watch and re-watch.
Ufotable’s “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” has reached over $600 million, within less than three months and has won the International Animation Award of 2025. “Demon Slayer” is known for its stunning animations, so it's no surprise that its movie would do so well. This is part one of the series “Infinity Castle Saga”, so part two can be expected to be just as good, if not better than, the same can be said for its third and final movie, concluding the 6-year-old anime franchise.
Though the series animation isn’t as breathtaking as “Demon Slayer”, “Chainsaw Man, Reze arc” had a greater emotional impact than “Demon Slayer.” Without going into any spoilers for anyone yet to see the movie, the movie showed a wonderful chemistry between Reze and Denji, really letting Denji experience a teenager lifestyle. The movie’s music also helps it stay memorable. “IRIS OUT” by Kenshi Yonezu has broken streaming records, topping the Billboard Japan Hot 100 multiple times, and hitting the top five on the Billboard Global 200. Yonezu’s contribution to the series cannot go unnoticed. The series' opening song, “Kickback”, has received significant awards, most notably becoming the very first Japanese-language song to hit Platinum. The movie has made over $160 million.
Studio Mappa released two movies from the” Jujutsu Kaisen” series. “Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death” released way back in July, was a retelling of the first half of the show’s second season, and not much can be said outside of that. The same can almost be said for the second movie. “Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution” comes out this December and is also a retelling of the second half of the second season (the better part), but it also includes the first two episodes of the upcoming “Culling Game” arc for the third season.
The main focus is not on these movies' financial records against Western industries; pirating gets in the way. It is their high popularity and undying fandoms, something recent Disney and Pixar movies struggle to have. Sure, each movie reaches a billion in the box office, but they don’t have edits on TikTok and Instagram, they don’t have songs breaking records, they don’t have fan made art that leaves you stunned, nor do they have people spending hundreds on costumes and merchandise. None of this applies to Sony industries because they’re in their own league.
“Since anime movies are kinda going mainstream nowadays, people are probably rushing to get a ticket since it's like one of those FOMO or YOLO moments and it could lead to a major shift in popularity as well,” said sophomore Timothy Tran.
The love and support these series and many others receive is what fuels this takeover, and its not just in film: the Persona series that blends a social simulation with a mature storytelling that relates with many young and mid-aged audiences. “Genshin Impact” revolutionized modern gacha games and JRPGs along with its sister games “Honkai Star Rail”, “Zenless Zone Zero” and “Tales of Arise” with its addictive combat and a goal of liberation over a slave owning world.
What these industries do right is that they connect to us as a people, there’s love for these characters (sometimes a it too much), that’s what most Western industries fail to do, they don’t see more than just making a quick cash grab movie and calling it a day.