In its 10th annual Anime Production Market report, Japan’s Teikoku Databank has revealed that the domestic industry set a new revenue record, generating US$2.45 billion last year. 

But in surveying more than 290 anime studios operating in Japan last month, the report also finds that the broader industry is struggling to keep up with rampant global market demand for anime, with rising production costs and an ongoing labor shortage posing the greatest challenges. Check out the report’s key findings:

Annual revenue: Up 4% to US$2.45 billion.

Average annual revenue per prodco: Rising for a fourth consecutive year to US$8.35 million.

Number of anime prodcos in Japan: Down 7.6% from last year to 293 companies.

Overall industry performance: Only 40% of prodcos surveyed posted gains in 2024, while 34.5% noted their operating expenses exceeded revenues, and 25.5% posted revenue declines. 

Supply vs. demand: While anime production is exploding, studios are citing rising labor costs, labor shortages and production delays as high-risk factors impacting their bottom lines. This stems from many Japanese animators leaving the workforce due to low wages, excessively long working hours, unfair contracts and no share in IP rights. 

Shifting production: 45.2% of the prodcos surveyed reported outsourcing production to overseas companies last year, up 4.4% from 2023. Contracts with China decreased by 14.7%, prompting companies to turn to new business partners in the US (23.7%), South Korea (10.2%) and Taiwan (2.8%). 

Number of TV anime titles: Anime commissions for linear television have been steadily decreasing, from 361 in 2016 to 300 this year. It’s the lowest measurement in the past 10 years, largely because new releases have shifted to streamers such as Netflix and YouTube and shorts platforms like TikTok. 

Industry outlook: As anime continues its global rise, Teikoku believes that studios will need to focus on optimizing work conditions, maintaining quality and embracing new technologies to increase profits and secure talent. Other future revenue drivers include distributing past works to more on-demand services, licensing popular characters in games or other media, and creating theatrical releases using episodes from existing TV series. 

Anime titles to look out for in 2025: The Apothecary Diaries, My Dress Up Darling, Kaiju No. 8, Dandadan, Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Five-Pointed Star and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Castle.