In a recent editorial featured on Anime! Anime!, animation critic Ryota Fujitsu explored the medium’s swift evolution from a niche interest to a mainstream commodity, pondering whether this trajectory signifies “the end of anime.”
Over the last two decades, what was once regarded as a specialized art form has now become a worldwide sensation. However, this surge in popularity has led to the inevitable commercialization of the medium, resulting in works that increasingly resemble one another due to market demands and oversaturation. Fujitsu contends that anime can be appreciated both as “art” and a “product,” yet he notes that the trend favoring its status as a product has intensified in recent years with no signs of abating. In a crowded marketplace, viewers are more likely to drop shows that fail to meet their expectations, knowing countless alternatives exist. With an abundance of options, audiences now select anime less based on genuine interest and more on what they wish to avoid. This mindset, which has persisted for years, has grown stronger, causing anime to naturally be seen as an interchangeable “product” or “commodity.”
Fujitsu also highlights how shifts in streaming and advertising have influenced anime. He argues that video ads, brief series, and streaming platforms have leveraged data on viewer attention spans and drop-off points to adopt safer, more formulaic structures, potentially pressuring anime to follow suit for competition. Additionally, the growing use of generative AI could reduce production costs and timelines, further accelerating commercialization, where quantity and distribution take precedence over creative quality.
Fujitsu explains that commercialization has altered how viewers approach anime. The typical consumer now favors the idea that entertainment should simply be “fun,” reflecting a lack of desire to seek deeper value beyond superficial enjoyment. Creating standout works has become challenging because, as Fujitsu puts it, “no matter how unique a show may be, if viewers consider it replaceable, it ceases to be art and becomes a commodity.”
He cautions that this perspective stems from consumers accepting anime as merely a disposable pastime. If anime is not critically examined as “works,” it risks being lost in the noise of an expanding market of consumable content, overshadowed by more attention-grabbing short-form media. “When I contemplate ‘the end of anime,’ I often wonder if it could be a state where, after full commodification, people no longer seek meaning in works expressed through the anime medium. Anime wouldn’t vanish, but it would no longer command attention.”
Fujitsu concludes that maintaining the ability to engage with media on its own terms is essential to counteract the advancing commercialization. The capacity to view anime beyond a “children’s cartoon” is what enabled the medium’s growth, and critical perspectives remain invaluable in preserving its artistic essence.