Expanding the world of anime on YouTube
Mar 24, 2024 – [[read-time]] minute read
You might be a fan of One Piece, Naruto, or Lucky Star, but have you ever seen characters from all of these together in one music video? Thanks to the talented and creative creators in YouTube’s anime community, you can.
Anime is a style of animation that originated in Japan, characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting action-filled plots, often with fantastic or futuristic themes. On YouTube, anime fans not only consume content, but often create their own, inspired by the genre’s distinct artistic styles and storytelling tropes.
Today, we’re celebrating this vibrant community and the unique perspectives they offer on this global pop culture phenomenon with a special YouTube logo (known as a Yoodle). It’s also the first day of Anime Japan 2024, which is the anime industry’s largest trade show of the year.
Last year, over 80% of total views of videos related to anime came from countries outside of Japan.
This community brings their fandom to life on YouTube in a number of ways. From reviews, comedic sketches and anime-inspired outfits to balloon art, drawing tutorials and recipes, you can find videos that help you see anime in a new light.
Anime has become bigger than ever before, thanks to its growing popularity with creators all over the world. Last year, over 80% of total views of videos related to anime came from countries outside of Japan.¹
Along the way, Black creators have amplified anime’s impact on mainstream culture, which you can hear more about in the latest episode of our podcast, featuring YouTube creators MatPat, JazzyGuns and Shonen Showdown and YouTube trends expert Earnest Pettie.
Ready to see what storylines are unraveling? Head over to our playlist to learn more.
1, Source: YouTube data, 2023, Global