Japanese Anime and Manga

The U.S demographic and cultural forces can be involved in the increased demand for the Japanese entertainment.

In U.S, changing age structure of population is also one of the reasons behind the increased demand of anime and manga products. About 76 million (approx.) of U.S population is categorized by Generation Y (born between 1977 and 1994), leaving behind Generation Xers and almost equal in size to Baby Boomers. Generation Y has created a large teen and young adult market. Weekly Shonen Jump’s primary audience is boys 9 to 14 years old. The magazine also enjoys a strong following with high school students, college students and adults. Its many popular titles have gone beyond the pages of manga, becoming television anime series, feature films, OVAs (direct-to-video anime) and video games. Financially, in 2005, manga represented a market of one of $180 million in the United States and was the fastest growing segment of books in the U.S.

Beside demographic forces, cultural forces also play their role in the increased demand of Japanese entertainment in the U.S. The trend has been observed that people of U.S tend to prefer home entertainment rather than going out for hangout or picnic etc. With DVD   players in most of the homes, broadband connections, cable connections, people are entertained at their own places without spending much on outdoor stuff. One of the distinguished characteristics of Gen Yers is their comfort and fluency with computer, digital and internet technology. A large percentage of teens use internet and taking advantage of free online games of manga and anime. This attitude of U.S citizens also adds to the increased demand of Japanese entertainment products.

By Muhammad Aleem Ashraf.