It seems that the movie version of “Kimetsu no Yaiba” Infinite Train Edition, which was a huge hit in Japan, has surpassed “Mortal Kombat” in the US theater rankings to become the top. It is not necessary to explain that Japanese anime and manga have grown into “content that can compete in overseas markets.”
There are many works that are highly evaluated overseas, such as Ghibli’s works and Makoto Shinkai’s “Weathering with You”. Even if you don’t know the face of the Japanese Prime Minister, there are many people who know “Mobile Suit Gundam” and “ONE PIECE”. There are many works that are more enthusiastic and popular overseas than Japanese people think, such as “NARUTO” and “Fullmetal Alchemist”.
Such content power is also shown in the numbers. According to the “Anime Industry Report 2020” of the Association of Japanese Animations, the animation industry market is growing steadily, and in 2019 it will reach a record high of 2.511 trillion yen due to overseas expansion and favorable video distribution services. It has become.
I think there are many people who feel complimented by themselves, saying, “Did you see this is Japan’s ability!”, But despite having such high content production ability, somehow in overseas markets, there is a field that doesn’t make sense. It is a “Japanese movie/drama”.
As you know, “manga originals” are now indispensable for Japanese movies and TV dramas. For example, the movie “Rurouni Kenshin Final Chapter The Beginning” currently being released and the upcoming “The Fable Hitman” are examples of this, and terrestrial dramas such as “Dragon Zakura” and “Ichikei no Karasu” are examples. There is no end to the list. Looking back on recent years, there are a lot of comic visualization works such as “From today I am !!”, “Alice in Borderland”, “Ship of Theseus”, and “Kakegurui”.
Since Japanese manga is “content that can compete in overseas markets,” it is safe to say that even works that are live-action versions of well-developed stories and attractive characters are fighting well in overseas markets.
In fact, the visualizations of Marvel and DC Comics have been huge hits around the world. Even if you haven’t seen the original American comic version of “Avengers,” many people should have seen “Avengers” in movie theaters and on TV. Hollywood works are not the only law of such hits. The world-famous Netflix drama “Itaewon Class” is also based on comics, but it didn’t become popular in advance.
