I think it’s safe to say, when entertainment historians look back on the year of 2023, we the press have officially seen the death of more than a few fandom trends. Clearly with the box office returns seen in DCU and MCU films, the comic book universe fandoms are definitely getting older and not growing. In the world of adult animation, the fandom of Rick and Morty has reached it’s all-time low, most notably this season because of the sudden and unwarranted departure of the show’s creator Justin Roiland. So, what’s the biggest fandom going on right now? According to a new report from Instagram, it’s anime…and the best part? This fandom is just getting really good.
For years Toonami and some combination Crunchyroll/Funimation were the de-facto places to go to for English dubbed anime. This year alone streaming services like Hulu, Disney+, and Tubi have added offerings to their services for anime. Netflix has shown sheer dominance by not only featuring a ton of original anime, but even launching a Japanese studio in recent years to make more. Heck, we just reported the other day about Skybound Entertainment doing the same.
The fandom is growing and getting even more sophisticated. Crunchyroll (who has another edition of its awards show coming soon and has even announced the categories just today) has made under-the-radar deals with the likes of Marshmello and Crocs for Jujutsu Kaisen-branded merch and has teamed up with Walmart to launch Crunchyroll-themed fanshops in 2400 stores nationwide.
The obvious influence of anime isn’t just content coming from Japan, rather the term anime is largely being respected as a style nowadays. In a technical sense, series like Castlevania: Nocturne (made in America), Captain Laserhawk (made in France), and Heaven Official’s Blessing (made in China) aren’t anime, the aesthetic influence largely garnered by kids who grew up watching Dragon Ball Z and whatnot on Toonami and whatever country’s local anime channel is is largely apparent, and that doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
2024 will tell a lot. Keep it posted here as we cover it all.