Anime’s Export Ambition Faces a Business Culture Test

By Tom Whitfield

North America’s highest-grossing international film ever is “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle,” a Sony Group release. That record gives Sony a concrete foothold in the anime business it is building. River Akira Davis, reporting for The Times from Tokyo, says the company is betting that global fandom can fuel growth for both the conglomerate and Japan as foreign rivals and A.I. crowd the sector.

Anime takes the convention floor

In New York last month, Davis reports, there was none of that economic gloom. At this year’s New York Comic Con, anime took center stage. A decade earlier, the annual four-day pop culture convention at the Javits Convention Center was dominated by American comic books and superheroes.

Davis describes anime as a Japanese subset of animation, traditionally featuring flat graphic illustrations and characters with large, expressive eyes. The shift showed up in what attendees wore and carried. Chris Cosentino, a New Yorker, pushed a stroller carrying his 13-year-old Pomeranian, Haku, dressed in the straw hat and red vest of Luffy from the pirate anime “One Piece.” Other fans dressed as Nezuko, the heroine of the hit “Demon Slayer” series, clutched Hello Kitty bags and wore lanyards printed with characters from the ninja anime “Naruto.”

Davis reports that the prevailing sentiment among attendees was that they love anime, and they love Japan. The report gives no attendance figure, ticket total or merchandise revenue, and does not describe a formal survey. It documents enthusiasm, not its economic value.

What Sony’s record does—and does not—prove

Sony Group chief executive Hiroki Totoki said: “Anime has become such a cultural phenomenon all over the world.” For Japan, with its aging society, he said: “it’s one of the bright spots.”

The first claim rests on a large global audience. The second rests on a national economic argument. Davis sets that argument against recent conditions in Japan: the population is aging and shrinking, manufacturers face pressure from low-cost Chinese competitors, and headlines have been dominated by energy shortages and ballooning government debt.

The “Demon Slayer” record supplies a concrete measure of international appeal, though Davis’s account gives no box-office total, production budget or release date. The ranking establishes a market result for one film in one region. It does not establish anime’s export value, its market share or its position against Japan’s other industries.

Why Japan’s business culture is the real test

The account’s framing is conditional: anime can become Japan’s leading export if the country’s business culture can manage the opportunity. Davis identifies foreign rivals and A.I. as pressures on the scene. His account names no specific competitors, systems or investments. The proposed business test is clear; the evidence supplied is mainly cultural.

That distinction matters for anyone assessing Sony’s wager. A film can top a regional box-office ranking without establishing an export industry. A convention can show dedicated fans without showing profit. Japan’s demographic decline and manufacturing pressure make the need for growth concrete; they do not show that anime can provide it.

What would change for Japan if anime led its exports?

The claimed change is a new source of growth for the country, with anime’s worldwide appeal supporting it. Davis’s account does not identify the business practices that would make that growth durable. It gives no market-share target, timetable or Sony investment plan.

For Sony and Japan’s wider economy, the practical gain remains potential rather than demonstrated contribution. The next test is whether Sony’s strategy and Japan’s business culture generate measurable export earnings, establish market share and set out a plan for foreign competition and A.I. The current account supplies none of those measures.