A survey conducted by a Chennai-based digital entertainment business JetSynthesys revealed that 83% of Indians chose Anime over all other animated content options.

Among the top 3 favourite anime, 48% were in favor of Naruto, 38% voted for Death Note, and 38% were inclined toward Attack on Titan.

Furthermore, the survey also revealed that 84% of those polled said they would be willing to spend money on merchandise and would pay a hefty amount for it, if they have to.

“84% of the participants indicated that they were willing to invest in merchandise and would pay a substantial amount for the same, showcasing a high demand but a supply shortage of homegrown players in this category,” said JetSynthesys.

It is worth noting, that anime consumption has increased the fan base for both the medium and all things Japanese up to 50% of them are interested to understand the culture better, the language, trying their food, and also want to visit the country.

JetSynthesys Vice-chairman Rajan Navani & Managing Director states that for a long time, the category was mislabeled as “kids’ content,” which caused a perception problem. However, this view has evolved in recent years, resulting in significant room for expansion and the potential for the industry to join mainstream discussions in India.

Navani further predicts, that with the emergence of Metaverse and various other immersive experiences such as AR/VR/XR, the possibility to exploit animation as a livelihood is not a dream anymore.

“Interestingly, in addition to the growth of anime as a content category, the bedrock of anime, that is, animation will also have a critical role to play in the future, especially with respect to emerging technologies like the Metaverse. The visual aspects of immersive experiences like AR/ VR/ XR will be greatly elevated through advanced animation and this will open up a world of possibilities for people to explore animation as a source of livelihood. We hope that this study brings to light this massive untapped opportunity for both global and Indian players in the ecosystem to work together to grow this space further in the country.”

Source: Times of India