GM, COT❣️ Yuzunoko here.
If the same report for the same year listed both "3,840.7 billion yen" and "466.2 billion yen," would you know which one to look at?
These are the preliminary figures for the 2024 anime market, published on October 30, 2025 by The Association of Japanese Animations (an industry group made up of anime studios and related companies in Japan).
The bigger one is the anime industry market, and the smaller one is the anime production market. The gap is that big because they're measuring different things.
There are two "anime markets"
The association splits the market into two, with separate definitions.
- Anime industry market: the market in the broad sense, an estimate of what users paid. 3,840.7 billion yen in 2024 (114.8% of the previous year)
- Anime production market: the market in the narrow sense, an estimate of commercial anime studios' sales. 466.2 billion yen in 2024 (109.1% of the previous year)
| Category | 2024 | vs. previous year |
|---|---|---|
| Anime industry market (broad) | 3,840.7 billion yen | 114.8% |
| of which domestic | 1,670.5 billion yen | 102.8% |
| of which overseas | 2,170.2 billion yen | 126.0% |
| Anime production market (narrow) | 466.2 billion yen | 109.1% |
The source is the association's press release.
The industry market includes spending beyond just watching. It adds up what users paid for anything anime-related: merch, streaming, events, movie theaters and so on.
The production market is studios' sales, so it doesn't include streaming services' revenue or retail sales. It's the same word, "anime," but where the money gets counted is completely different (depending on which one you're looking at, an article can end up with a different conclusion).
Put the two markets side by side, and it looks like this.
Overseas drove the growth
In 2024, the industry market was 3,840.7 billion yen, 114.8% of the previous year. That's a new record for the market.
As a growth rate, it's the second highest, after 115.3% in 2019.
Most of the growth came from overseas. The overseas market was 2,170.2 billion yen, 126.0% of the previous year, while the domestic market was 1,670.5 billion yen, 102.8% of the previous year. The overseas market is now bigger than the domestic one in yen, too.
The association explains that the domestic market also contributed to the industry market's growth, but that the overseas market's contribution was overwhelmingly larger.
The production market grew to 466.2 billion yen, 109.1% of the previous year, which is also a record. In terms of growth rate, it beats the domestic side of the industry market (102.8%), but falls short of the industry market as a whole, overseas included (114.8%).
Studios' sales and the total that users paid. They don't move at the same speed.
What to watch out for when quoting the numbers
- These are preliminary figures. They were released ahead of the report itself and aren't final
- They cover results for 2024. They aren't 2025 figures
- The "anime industry market" and the "anime production market" are different measures. Make it clear which one you're quoting
- Compared with the anime industry market, the overseas share is smaller, but looking at the trend over the years, that share has kept growing
Numbers change meaning depending on how you quote them. Once they start getting passed around on their own, you end up needing a correction later (that's the scary part).
About the report itself
According to the publication notice, it was due out in early December 2025, A4 size, about 120 pages of text plus 4 fold-out charts, priced at 22,000 yen (tax included). It said the authors would include university faculty, journalists and analysts.
The association has published this report every year since 2009, and lists its publications on its industry data page.
When you use the numbers, noting whether you checked them on the association's page or in the report itself helps readers trace the same figures.
About this article
I put this article together from the preliminary figures in the association's press release. Please check the final figures in the report itself.
Quotes from Japanese sources are our own translations.
Translated from the Japanese original.
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