This year is already shaping up to be big for anime movies. When I say anime movies, I’m not talking about original animated movies either like Your Name. I’m specifically referencing movies that come from properties already made popular by an anime like the My Hero Academia movies. However, it seems other anime genres are making a move on the tactic as we have international releases on the calendar for Haikyuu and Blue Lock slated for this summer and an Overlord movie on the way (release date not yet known). Point is, so far anime movies have focused mostly on shounen and now the trend of producing an anime that then switches over to the movie format is expanding its grasp.
Personally, I credit this rise to Demon Slayer: Mugen Train. Anime movies have been a concept for ages, but I never thought of them as very successful as an outsider looking in because people would mention them here and there, but they weren’t necessarily important. Why? Because anime movies typically consisted of filler or optional arc content that wasn’t essential to watch in the first place. Mugen Train changed the game by being a true, authentic arc that was given a high production value and directly continued the narrative. It’s not skippable content, and at the time many fans (like myself) were unsure if an anime adaptation would even be made as a substitute. So you bet your ass I plopped my ass in a theater and enjoyed the spectacle on the big screen. Later the movie was converted into an anime format, but if I had waited that long to see the arc, there’s not a scene left that wouldn’t have been spoiled by others online.
What a spectacle it was.
Not everyone feels the same about what catalyst(s) lit the spark for these anime movies to finally thrive internationally. Last year Toho Animation CEO Hiroyasu Matsuoka argued in an interview that he thought My Hero Academia deserves a lot of credit for the rise of anime films and Western expansion in general. My Hero Academia is a huge hit in the West (probably thanks to so much of its Western superhero influence in the first place, combined with the hero craze of the last decade) and he said that brought many Western distributors and streaming services to the table. In the past it was tough to negotiate with them, he claims, but with My Hero Academia’s popularity, they were finally able to strike more profitable deals. He says the rise in anime films is a result of this prior breakthrough in licensing arrangements.
Shit did get nutty popular.
Whatever the reason or combination of factors, this year’s announcements already showcase how much the industry has changed in the last 10 years. In 2014 a niche show like Blue Lock had no chance of scoring a theatrical release in America. Are you excited for any of these franchises to get movie installments? Do you enjoy some arcs or backstories being converted to a movie format, or do you prefer the regular episodic format? What do you think led to the increase in anime film production? Buy a ticket to reserve your seat, load up on expensive popcorn, and see your favorite characters on the big screen in the comments below!
