Studio Chizu President and producer Yuichiro Saito warned that the Japanese anime industry’s heavy dependence on manga adaptations could pose long-term risks, despite the medium’s current global boom.
Saito made the remarks during an animation conference held at the inaugural Aichi–Nagoya International Animation Film Festival (ANIAFF), where Kodansha Senior Business Strategist Jessica Pourse was also present.
Speaking on a panel titled “What Is Japanese Anime? What Is Happening in the World Today?” Saito said the anime industry is clearly experiencing a period of strong overseas expansion, driven in part by streaming platforms and high-profile successes.
According to data from the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA), the global anime market reached a record USD 25.1 billion in 2024, a 15% increase from the previous year. However, this growth was driven almost entirely by established franchises.
In 2025, the North American and Japanese box offices were dominated by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, which earned over USD 722 million globally. Other top performers included Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, which once again is adapted from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s popular manga.
While acknowledging manga as a vital creative source that has long supported anime production, Saito warned that an “overreliance on existing intellectual property is unhealthy for the industry.” According to him, anime’s existence is closely tied to manga’s creative output currently, raising concerns about what could happen if that ecosystem weakens.
Saito added that the global rise of webtoons and the increasing number of anime-style works being produced outside Japan present additional challenges.
Focusing On Original Anime Titles:
The panel then highlighted the importance of original works in sustaining the medium, with Saito emphasizing the need to preserve original storytelling, creating narratives from the ground up based on creative philosophy rather than established brands.
“Manga adaptations are wonderful, but we must also keep alive the flame of original storytelling—creating narratives from zero based on our own philosophy.”
Pourse supported this view by drawing on her experience at Anime Limited, stating that before the COVID-19 pandemic, original anime films often performed strongly in overseas markets.
“Before the pandemic, original films actually performed better at the overseas box office than IP-based works. We focused on branding directors—Makoto Shinkai, Mamoru Hosoda, Masaaki Yuasa, Naoko Yamada—as auteurs. Original works opened markets first, creating fertile ground for IP titles to later gain broader acceptance.”
However, the preference for adapting manga stems from a desire for minimum guarantees of success. The historical sales of a manga series serves as a primary indicator for a production committee’s potential return on investment. Conversely, original works carry significantly higher financial risks, as they lack a built-in audience to guarantee viewership.
This reliance on proven IP has become a survival strategy as studios navigate what is characterized as a “profitless boom.” While industry-wide revenues reached all-time highs, 34.5% of Japanese animation studios reported that their operating expenses exceeded their income, citing soaring production costs driven by the demand for higher cinematic quality and a chronic labor shortage.
Because original works require more time and financial backing to build a brand from zero, many studios might find it difficult to justify the risk.
Saito too acknowledged that investing in original projects has become increasingly difficult worldwide, but warned that abandoning them would weaken anime’s creative core. He added that in order to sustain the industry, Japan must invest in new creative works, address labor issues within the industry, and strengthen education for future creators and audiences.
His remarks align with the broader creative approach associated with Studio Chizu, the studio he co-founded with director Mamoru Hosoda, which has built its filmography entirely on original works.
The studio’s first feature film, Wolf Children, co-produced with Madhouse and released in 2012, earned roughly $55 million and won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. It was followed by The Boy and the Beast in 2015, which won the same award, and Mirai in 2018, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature and another Japan Academy Prize.
Hosoda’s 2021 film Belle premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 14-minute standing ovation, before its theatrical releases in Japan and the United States.
Source: Branc Japan
