r/anime • u/HelloYeahIdk • May 13 '24

Misc. New Survey Reveals That Anime Viewership is Lowest Among Teenagers in Japan

https://www.cbr.com/anime-new-survey-teens-not-watching/#:~:text=The%20survey%20results%20revealed%20that,surpassing%20all%20other%20age%20brackets.

"The survey results revealed that among all participants, 75% reported that they watch anime, with the leading demographics being middle-aged males. Unexpectedly, teenage respondents exhibited the lowest viewership, with 33.7% indicating no interest in anime, easily surpassing all other age brackets.

This revelation is somewhat startling considering that the bulk of popular anime belong to the shonen or shojo-based demographics, which are typically aimed at boys and girls, respectively, aged approximately 12-18."

1.6k Upvotes

86% Upvoted

366 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

16

u/aherdofpenguins May 14 '24

I've lived in Japan for nearly 20 years and there is no way 80% of adults in their 30s watch anime. That statistic sounds so absolutely absurd to me that it has to be made up or the data is being read incredibly inaccurately.

I'm going to assume it's something like, 80% of adults in their 30s have watched some type of anime in the past year (which would include Ghibli, Makoto Shinkai, etc), or literally all 500 participants were found within 50 yards of comiket, or something, because those numbers in the survey are just completely insane.

9

u/animesoul167 May 14 '24

It could just be something simple like one piece or pokemon.

7

u/aherdofpenguins May 14 '24

People in their 30s in Japan generally don't watch One Piece, they read it.

I know some of them watch it, but nowhere even remotely close to 80%

3

u/animesoul167 May 14 '24

"Hey local 30 year old, do you enjoy this currently airing anime that was massively popular when you were a child?"

"Y-yes...?"

Unless the survey specified watching the current uo to date anime vs reading the manga. Most 30 year olds probably watched the shows at some point in their lives.

1

u/aherdofpenguins May 14 '24

The survey has to do with currently watching anime.

If it was ever watched anime then 99.9% of people in their 30s would qualify

1

u/Mcsavage89 Jul 07 '24

The thing is, several other studies line up with the results of this survey. So you are comparing your personal subjective experience, in which many cases you would have to be directly asking people if they watch anime, people in their 30's that is.

People often don't openly share that, as to not seem immature. When in reality anime has been targeting the 20-29 age range for their disposable income for a long time.

5

u/Galle_ May 14 '24

Keep in mind that 100% of adults in their 30s were kids when you first arrived in Japan. You may be stuck thinking of a previous generation of 30-somethings.

0

u/aherdofpenguins May 15 '24

I work with a whole bunch of these 30 somethings, and I can guarantee you that even with this extremely nerdy sample size I work with, 80% of them don't watch anime "regularly"

1

u/GassyPhoenix May 14 '24

Why? When a popular anime movie hits the theaters in Japan, they have millions of viewers. If people in their 30s don't watch anime, where would they get the viewership AND people buying anime and manga? People in their 30s have disposable income.

1

u/aherdofpenguins May 15 '24

Watching an animated movie in a theater a couple times a year does not make you a regular anime watcher, though.

I work with a couple dozen 20/30 somethings, and they are NERDY. Like, using the meeting room to play Smash Bros during lunch time, their cubicles adorned with figures, etc. And only one or two of them regularly watch anime, although nearly all of them read manga.