Anime is a key part of the world nowadays whether people want to go and admit it or not. Not the least of which is because it’s encompassed so many things and has gotten so much attention worldwide that it’s hard to not at least know what it is. And that in and of itself shows just how important it’s gotten over the last while. Now though, Crunchyroll has found out just how much anime has grown in terms of influence.
Alden Budill, who is the head of global partnerships, shared the big news with fans during A-JAPAN showcase. It was a poll of people from Gen Z, and in that poll, 94% of those interviewed knew about anime. That’s a VERY impressive amount.
“It encompasses almost the entirety of the media landscape within a singular artform,” she shared. “People use anime beyond the screen to signpost things about their own personalities. The youngsters know what we’re doing, and they’re into it.”
Granted, the Crunchyroll poll likely didn’t cover ALL of Gen Z in a single country or even all over the world, but it does paint a picture of how it is growing all over.
In the early days of anime, only Japan cared about it, and in the West only program blocks like Toonami would feature animes like Dragon Ball or Outlaw Star. You had to find your own ways to watch others like Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion or something else. Then, slowly, it grew. Shows like Naruto, One Piece, Fairy Tail and others started to showcase just how cool anime could be.
Fast forward a little more and you have breakout animes like My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer, and the classic animes were getting reborn like with Sailor Moon Crystal and Dragon Ball Super.
So if Gen Z is getting into anime more than ever, just imagine what the next generation will be like?
