adminIt is safe to say anime’s not just for basement dwellers anymore, as almost everyone is now watching it. With those stories, art, and emotions, it’s even transcended the term “geekdom,” and people of all ages are getting into anime.
And apparently, no one’s felt this shifting wave of interest in anime more than MyAnimeList (MAL), arguably the go-to place for keeping tabs on your favorite shows. And their user numbers?
They have “skyrocketed” since 2020, according to some recent revelations from their CEO, Atsushi Mizoguchi. And the reason? Those streaming giants like Netflix, which are telling you that anime is no longer a nerd hobby, but it’s a worldwide obsession now.
Streaming platforms are drawing in waves of new anime fans
The year is 2020, the same year we all got stuck at home scrolling through news and binge-watching shows to kill the boredom. And guess what? It turned out to be a game-changer for anime, with viewers trying out new things.
MAL, anime’s largest tracking platform with 19.5 million registered users from 240 countries, has been loving this new trend. Fans have flocked to their site for tracking what they have watched, rating episodes, and fighting over who is the best.
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Speaking about those numbers in a recent interview with Japanese news site Oricon, Mizoguchi stated:
Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, our user numbers have skyrocketed. This is largely thanks to more people discovering Japanese anime through Netflix and other platforms.
Platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll are making anime so easy to get into. They’re like, ‘Look at all of these anime titles we have for you, just click away, and it requires zero effort!’ No more searching for those complex titles, as their recommendations are quite amazing.
At 45yrs old my first ever manga, I’m excited byu/funkoscotland1979 inKimetsuNoYaiba
Animes like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen came out like wildfire, and turned casual couch junkies into hardcore anime fans. It’s rather impressive and overwhelming how streaming has created this large, inclusive, collective party for all anime fans.
Anime is now pulling everybody in
Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer | Credit: Ufotable
The best part? Anime is no longer for only certain types of fans. The user numbers at MAL clearly show anime is now bringing in fans from all sorts of demographics. Also, Mizoguchi noted, “about 30-40% of our users are women”.
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So, a huge step up from when it was all about dude obsessing over those power-ups. From shonen brawls to cozy romances, streaming platforms have pretty much got everything to keep us hooked till the end.
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From kids to grown-ups, they all have succumbed to this anime craze. With 19.5 million users, 99% from outside Japan, MAL may as well be the United Nations of anime fans now. And all those stereotypes and “geek” label attached to anime? Nah, streaming has made it all just a myth.
Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen are available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire