As a fan of anime since 2018, it’s really cool seeing the creative ways that animes can be marketed and monetized no matter the size of the fanbase. The quality and looks of the products make fans want to buy those items even more. Here are a few popular ways I’ve found that anime can make lots of cash.

The Anime Itself

Of course, the way that all animes get their money is from the anime being broadcasted and licensed. If one person watches it, they could be recommended it to people with similar taste and then more people would watch it. The more viewers the more profit.

Of course, that also depends on multiple factors such as the story, animation, how many episodes there are, studios, accessibility, dubs/subs, etc.

Manga/Light Novels

Making an Anime into a manga is a no-brainer, many animes stem from the manga and if the anime can blow up the manga will too. Whether they are a spin-off, anthology, or the original story before the anime broken it down, they’re ways that fans can support their favorite shows. I could say similar things about the planning of a light novel as well.

Movies

Once the anime succeeds on the small screens of viewers, studios can plan on going to the big screen. For a successful anime, a movie can rack up A LOT of money. The most recent example of this is the Demon Slayer movie which made more than $400 Million USD. While the Demon Slayer fanbase is so large, if an anime does well on TV then a movie will make quite a bit of money as well. There’s so much profit there!

Figures and Nendoroids

When characters of certain animes become popular, the companies are most likely to turn them into a figure. Many people enjoy collecting good figures and the more the companies make the more fans would buy them. Lots of companies don’t even stop at one figure per main character.

Apps

Seeing as many Gacha and PvP games make millions, game companies would want to reach out and license the series. The apps can always bring in new fans that would later fall down the rabbit hole of content a franchise may have.

Music

While it’s mainly idol animes that can market their music, it’s still a big market. As long as the song is likable by their audience, people will listen to it more often making more revenue. If those songs get viral that would spell even more profit.

Collectible Objects

What I mean by this is that a few series such as Pokemon, Yu gi oh, Aikatsu, Duel Masters, and others have their own card games that the animes or the card game promotes. By seeing those cards in action, fans of that certain series would want to collect those themselves. When people want to collect those cards it means profit for the company behind them.

Collectible objects could also be figures and Nendoroids but I feel like, with the recent rise of scalping, cards are also becoming a more profitable market. I recently saw that the Pretty Cure Series Tropical-Rouge was selling makeup that was shown in the anime.

Spin-Offs/Remakes

Either the plot or the characters may be the same but their environment is different. Sword Art Online has one based around Gun Gale Online which features the same game but with different characters. A remade anime can be the same anime but with better graphics or the same plot with a modern touch. Sailor Moon and Fruits Basket have a remake that are receiving good reviews from veteran fans and new fans alike.

OVAs/DVD Specials

The specials could be an unaired episode or a side story. I’m not exactly sure how much one could make but it definitely depends on the format, inclusions, pricing, and the reviews from critics.

I’m sure there are many other ways companies can profit off one series. It all depends on how creative someone can get and if they get the licensing to do it. I hope that we can get new types of content for fans worldwide.