387921 03: Ash, Pikachu and Misty (background) in 4Kids Entertainment's animated adventure "Pokemon3," distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. (Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)

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Japanese animation, or anime, has been outgrowing its niche fanbase in the western hemisphere for more than a decade, but a new report shows the extent to which it has become mainstream just in the past five years. According to a study by GEM Partners, a Tokyo-based analytics firm focused on the entertainment industry, the US has seen anime viewership more than double between 2020 and 2025, hitting 22% in the latest data released by the company.

The report surveyed over 15,000 direct respondents aged 13-65 worldwide across fifteen major markets, and covers the years 2020-2025.

Prior to the pandemic, just about 10% of Americans regularly watched anime, which includes everything from all-ages adventure series like One Piece, Sailor Moon and Dragonball to intense, adult-themed horror, crime, drama and science fiction. But in the past five years, viewership increased at a CAGR of 17%, driven in part by a high-stakes competition for content among streaming platforms including Netflix, Prime Video, and Sony’s anime-focused Crunchyroll service.

The increase in viewership is complemented by the rise of manga – the comics on which most anime are based – to become the category leader in North American comics publishing, vastly outselling superheroes and other genres in the trade book channel and, increasingly, in comic book stores. The growth in fandom is also evident in the increasing number and attendance for anime-oriented conventions like Anime Expo in LA, AnimeNYC, Otakon and Sakura-Con, which draw tens or hundreds of thousands in attendance.

America still has a way to go to close the gap to other countries surveyed by GEM Partners. India saw the largest growth, from 11% market penetration in 2020 to over 40% in 2025, a number amplified by the sheer size of the Indian population. South Korea rode a 32% CGR over five years to rise from 10% to 38% in 2025, a trend that the country’s indigenous webtoon industry hopes to replicate. China nearly doubled its anime consumption from 22% to 42%; so did Brazil, which is now at 34%.

All the growing global markets still fall shy of anime’s home market in Japan, where 55% of the population watch anime (up from 31% in 2020).

According to the survey, a few top titles are driving the worldwide boom. In America, where animation is largely a kid-oriented genre, Pokemon, Dragonball, Naruto, Sailor Moon and One Piece are the category leaders in lifetime views. Other countries sprinkle in more mature and violent series like Attack on Titan and Demon Slayer. Only one series produced since 2020, Jujutsu Kaisen appeared in the most-watched rankings in every country surveyed in 2025.

Netflix, YouTube and Prime Video are the top streamers across the nine countries surveyed by Gem Partners over the past three month, except in China where local services billibillie, iQIYI and Tencent Video prevail. Crunchyroll ranked in the top 10 in every country surveyed outside Japan, China, and South Korea.

The growth of anime fandom has ripple effects down the line for licensed products and merchandise, as anime fans are voracious consumers of swag that affirms their fan identity. Over 65% of anime viewers in all eight countries outside of Japan included in the survey report spending money on anime-related products and services in the past year, with US, China and India leading the pack. Typically revenue from licensed merchandise can account for 30-50% of the total value of an anime franchise.

Altogether, the survey confirms other recent reports predicting the global market for anime could grow from nearly $38 billion in 2025 to over $77 billion by 2033. This is good news for the largely Japanese-controlled content and production industry, which is apparently winning a soft-power race for the hearts and minds of fans, particularly younger fans, worldwide.