According to the latest 2025 survey, the genre with the highest percentage of viewers was “anime and tokusatsu,” followed by “Japanese dramas.”
“Overseas (Western) dramas,” which ranked second at 38% in 2016, has declined significantly and is now fifth at 24%.Over the past decade, SVOD services for users have shifted from platforms primarily used to watch overseas content to platforms used to watch anime and Japanese dramas.
“Moving away from Western films” is most noticeable among younger audiences
Although Western films have lost share overall, the scale of the decline differs by age group. Among younger audiences—especially those aged 15–19 and in their 20s—the usage rate has dropped sharply since 2020. In contrast, while viewership among those in their 50s and older has also declined, the change is far less dramatic than among younger viewers.
“Overseas (Western) dramas” are declining across all age groups
Viewership of overseas (Western) dramas is declining across every age group. The trend is particularly strong among older viewers: the rate has fallen 17 percentage points among people in their 60s and 16 points among those in their 50s since 2016.
“Anime and tokusatsu” are growing across all age groups
The share of viewers who say they watch anime and tokusatsu has grown significantly over the past decade and is now the highest among all genres. It shows a strong upward trend among teenagers (15–19), people in their 20s, 30s, and even those in their 40s, exceeding 50% since 2022.
Even among people in their 50s and older, the share is lower than among younger groups but has still followed the same upward trajectory over the past ten years. This suggests that watching anime is becoming a habit not only among young people but across all age groups.“Japanese dramas” are growing particularly among seniors
Japanese dramas are also showing an upward trend across a wide range of age groups. The increase is especially notable among people in their 60s, where the share has risen 18 percentage points since 2016, indicating that Japanese dramas are becoming increasingly important for senior viewers.
Although the overall percentage remains lower than among those in their 60s, it is also notable that viewership among teenagers (15–19) has increased by 18 points since 2016.
by liatris4405