The Rise in Popularity of Anime in the West

I would like to create my capstone under the theme and topic of the Influence of Anime; specifically, productions from the East, have had on popular culture, media, and consumerism. These vast multimedia franchises have influenced many different Western productions in either a subtle way like an homage or a direct adaptation, to varying degrees of success. Direct franchises such as Pokémon have become the highest-grossing franchises on the planet with a total revenue of almost twice as much as Mickey Mouse. Other franchises such as Dragon Ball and One Piece have been widely successful worldwide.

When examining the popularity of Anime, we can see a spike every decade or so. Early anime fans found media from Japan as early as the 1970s but truly didn't find a foothold in the West until the 1990s with the introduction of the Toonami late-night television block. While some had found anime before the introduction of Toonami, it was the ease of availability that caused a rise in fans due to titles such as Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. These series are a foundation on which anime would be built.

The next generation would be more available due to the introduction of streaming such as Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Hi-Dive. We saw series such as One-Punch Man, Attack on Titan, Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Kaguya-Sama Love is War, and most recently Frieren: Beyond Journeys End all receive popularity worldwide, attracting audiences larger than the generations before due to the large availability or he series and the merchandise and manga that came with it.