Kimberly Adams

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I'm Kimberly Adams.

Anime, Japanese animated shows and movies, is kind of taken over the world.

A report from the Association of Japanese Animations showed that the industry made record revenue last year, $25 billion globally.

And 2025 is looking pretty good, too.

The movie Demon Slayer, Infinity Castle, was one of the highest-grossing films this year, making more than $700 million globally.

The film is part of the hit series Demon Slayer and Infinity Castle became Japan's highest grossing movie of all time.

So this being the end of the year and all, we wanted to check in to see where the anime industry might be headed next.

Doug Montgomery is the CEO of Global Connects Media and also an adjunct professor at Temple University in Tokyo.

And he was game to deal with the time zones and join us in the middle of the night there.

Good to talk with you.

Big picture, we saw data that anime hit record highs in 2024.

Based on what you've seen so far this year, how will 2025 compare?

Why is it on a roll in particular right now?

You know, it's interesting you mentioned sort of how it used to exist, at least in the United States in particular, in like small corners and pockets and not really discussed broadly.

I also wonder how much of this is just the people, especially in the United States, who grew up watching anime now being old enough to not care to talk whether or not they talk about it out loud.

Yeah.