For years, there was an urban myth that if a series didn’t sell thousands of Blu-ray discs in its first week of release, the franchise was doomed to obscurity. However, the renowned light novel writer Nazuna Miki decided to lay the cards on the table to explain how digital streaming platforms have changed the rules of the game in the anime industry, while also making a direct comment about genres that fail commercially outside Japan.

Miki explained that in the past, a production’s profitability depended almost entirely on physical sales after its TV broadcast. If discs didn’t sell quickly, the income for most titles froze. Today, the landscape is completely different: keeping a series in global streaming catalogs for a couple of years is enough to recoup the initial investment, generating constant long-term profits that justify producing a second season.

To illustrate this new reality, the author revealed a fact that surprised many in the industry: he knows firsthand several projects that got approval for a second season having sold barely a hundred physical copies. Sequels are no longer forced out of desperation or require astronomical domestic numbers, but instead follow a digital business model where the international audience amortizes costs over time.

However, not all news is positive for Japanese creators. The author addressed genres that simply don’t take off internationally, pointing directly to slice-of-life stories. According to Miki, plots focused on school life and high school club activities fail to generate empathy or connection with Western viewers because Japanese school dynamics are completely alien to them.

The most discussed point came when talking about the yuri genre. Miki clarified that, although romance stories between girls receive constant praise and a great reputation in international communities, this positive reception doesn’t translate into real revenue. The writer gave an example of a lesbian romance that broke historical sales records at his publishing house in Japan, but had virtually no commercial impact abroad when adapted to screen.

Born in Taiwan and based in Japan, Nazuna Miki is one of the most prolific light novel authors in the isekai genre, with over 22 million copies sold in his career. Among his works adapted to animation are titles like My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 and Botsuraku Yotei no Kizoku dakedo, Hima datta kara Mahou wo Kiwamete Mita, establishing him as a voice with extensive knowledge of the entertainment economy in Asia.

With streaming now allowing new seasons to be approved even with low disc sales, do you think studios should take more risks with sequels or is it right for them to reduce the production of school stories and yuri for the international audience?