Anime is no longer just pop culture. It is a complex global business involving IP licensing, streaming economics, merchandising, live events, and, increasingly, technology-driven change. With more than 300 new anime series launched each year, it’s clear that the industry has gone global. In this conversation, we examine how the anime and manga industry works, where the pressure points are in the value chain, and how global markets, data, and innovation are reshaping this traditionally opaque sector. Today’s guest on the Real Gaijin AMA podcast is truly a subject matter expert who joined us from Minnesota in the United States. Who is he? Meet Richardson Handjaja, the publisher of Animenomics, a reader-supported English-language newsletter published every Wednesday that is focused on the economics and strategy behind anime and manga. This online publication goes far beyond merely announcing new titles based on press releases. Drawing on his background at MyAnimeList and in B2B revenue operations, Richardson brings a data-driven, industry-first lens to a field that is often only covered through fandom or press releases. On the agenda We began with some basic questions about Richardson’s background. However, the conversation covered a wide range of topics related to the business dynamics of the anime and manga industries. Key takeaways * Fundamental market drivers: The Japanese anime and manga industries are structurally similar to the global music recording industry in that value creation, ownership, and monetization are divided into three distinct categories. * The first layer consists of the creatives: mangaka (manga artists), light-novel authors, anime directors, animators, composers, and voice actors who are often associated with a particular animation studio (e.g., MAPPA, A-1 Pictures, CloverWorks, Production I.G., Toei Animation, and Bones). These individuals are analogous to songwriters, performers, and producers in music. These individuals generate the creative work but usually don’t retain meaningful ownership of the resulting intellectual property. They are compensated upfront (through fees, advances, page rates, or salaries), with limited long-term participation in downstream success. * The second layer consists of production-side rights holders, who are usually production committees, or seisaku iinkai (制作委員会) in Japanese, composed of publishers, broadcasters, and music labels. These committees function much like record labels in the music industry. They finance production, aggregate risk, control the master intellectual property (IP), and decide how the IP is exploited across formats and markets. Just as record labels own master recordings and publishing rights, production committees hold decisive control over adaptation rights, international licensing, merchandising, and spin-offs. Most of the long-term economic value accrues at this layer. Some big names in this segment include Aniplex, Sony Music, and Kadokawa. * Third are the distribution channels, which closely parallel each other across industries. In anime and manga, this includes TV broadcasters, streaming platforms (e.g., Crunchyroll and Netflix), theaters, digital manga apps, and overseas licensors of related merchandise (e.g., character figurines made by Bandai Namco, Good Smile Company, and Toho, the maker of Godzilla figurines). In music, it includes streaming services, radio, physical retail, and live performance promoters. These channels typically do not own the IP, yet they exert significant leverage over discovery, reach, and revenue share. In both industries, shifts in distribution technology, particularly streaming, have increased the power of platforms while compressing margins upstream. This reinforces a system in which creatives remain distant from most IP-driven returns. * Merchandising is “up for grabs”: Although the relationship between creatives and production-side rights holders in anime and manga is relatively stable, merchandising is the most fluid and contested aspect of the industry. Creatives are largely locked into established arrangements, such as page rates, commissions, or work-for-hire contracts, while production committees reliably control intellectual property (IP) ownership and licensing decisions. This division of labor is well understood and reinforced by institutions, and it is unlikely to change quickly. Merchandising, however, sits downstream from content creation and IP control. This makes it more sensitive to shifts in consumer behavior, technology, and global demand. Merchandising is “up for grabs” because it is no longer confined to traditional categories such as figurines, DVDs, and apparel sold through domestic retail channels. Digital goods, in-game items, NFTs (or their successors), direct-to-consumer storefronts, limited global drops, experiential merchandise, and data-driven fan targeting are reshaping how value is captured. New entrants—including platforms, overseas partners, e-commerce specialists, and creators—can sometimes enter this layer without fully disrupting the upstream IP structure. As a result, merchandising has become the primary arena where experimentation happens, margins can expand, and bargaining power can shift, even as the core creative and production framework remains largely fixed. * Shout-out to potential collaborators: Richardson is essentially doing it all on his own: researching and analyzing the industry, developing and curating content for Animenomics, and publishing Animenomics on Substack. While he has a growing network of collaborators who help him cover specific markets, such as Latin America and Southeast Asia, he is eager to find additional market insiders worldwide with whom to partner. If you’re a fan of anime and manga and are interested in market dynamics, or if you work in the industry, first become a subscriber to Animenomics. Feel free to reach out to Richardson to discuss potential collaborations, as well. Timeline Substack does not yet have the functionality to allow you to use a link to jump to a specific section like YouTube’s “chapters.” Please refer to the times listed below to navigate through our hour-long conversation. Thank you for your understanding. Key contacts * Animenomics Substack: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhandjaja/ * The Association of Japanese Animations (日本動画協会): https://aja.gr.jp/english/japan-anime-data * More about Smart Brevity (style of writing employed by both Animenomics and Real Gaijin): The Art of Smart Brevity - Write Less, Say More | Jim VandeHei | TEDxOshkosh #AnimeIndustry #JapanBusiness #MediaEconomics #IPStrategy #StreamingPlatforms #CreatorEconomy #GlobalMedia #AIinMedia #Animenomics #RichardsonHandjaja #アニメ業界 #日本ビジネス #コンテンツ産業 #知的財産 #配信ビジネス #エンタメ業界 #海外市場 #AI活用 #アニメノミクス #ハンジャヤリチャードソン #RealGaijin #リアル外人 Please note that you can subscribe to Real Gaijin for free. If you are so inclined, you can also purchase an annual subscription for a relatively small fee. However, I understand that even the lowest level of annual subscription allowed by Substack may seem too high for many. If you just want to buy a coffee for Real Gaijin (or maybe a green tea), you can also make a small donation here: https://buymeacoffee.com/realgaijin All levels of support - including just liking a particular article and/or leaving a comment - are very welcome. Thanks again for reading. While Real Gaijin lives in Substack, you can also find Real Gaijin on a few other platforms (listed in alphabetical order). https://www.instagram.com/real_gaijin_on_substack/ https://www.threads.net/@real_gaijin_on_substack https://www.tiktok.com/@real.gaijin https://x.com/Real_Gaijin_ https://www.youtube.com/@RealGaijin https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-kennedy-5b50b71/ Get full access to Real Gaijin at realgaijin.substack.com/subscribe
