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Japanese Anime Home Video Commercial Sales Fall 16.6% in 1st Half of 2017

The Japan Video Software Association (JVA) released a new sixth-month report Friday that includes the sales from the first half of the year from January to June.

The total sales revenue for the home video market in Japan from January to June amounted to around 91,685,000,000 yen (about US$816 million), a 10.6% decrease over the same period from last year. The Blu-ray Disc market has seen a 6.6% decrease from last year in terms of sales and a 7.9% decrease in terms of units sold. The DVD market saw a 13.6% decrease in terms of sales, and a 13.8% decrease in terms of units sold. DVDs made up 55.4% of sales, while Blu-ray Discs made up 44.7% of sales.

Commercial sales for individual use, which comprise a majority of the market, has seen a 10.5% decrease, and sales for rentals have fallen 11.8%.

(Note: The numbers in the next two paragraphs represent numbers for commercial sales for individual use only, and don't include rental sales, business sales, or special sales.)

Japanese anime for general audience sales (which includes anime aimed at teenagers or older) made up 26.4% of total sales, and sales were down 16.6%. Blu-ray Disc sales made up 77.6% of the overall sales for Japanese anime for a general audience.

Blu-ray Disc sales were down 14.4% for Japanese anime for general audiences, and made up 37.1% of sales for the overall Bu-ray Disc market. DVD sales were down 23.3% for Japanese anime for general audiences, and made up 13.2% of sales for the overall DVD market.

The Animation Business Journal news website said it expects sales in the latter half of the year to increase due to sales from hits such as your name. (released on July 26) and In This Corner of the World (released on September 15).

Market research firm GfK Japan released its own research in the Japanese home video market for January-June earlier this year, which reported at a similar decrease from last year (although it did not count purchases by rental stores).

Home video revenue in Japan has gradually declined since 2005, as seen in the chart below. From the past 12 years, sales hit their peak in 2004, with a revenue of 375.3 billion yen.

The Japan Video Software Association's (JVA) 12-month report on home video sales in Japan for 2016 also revealed a 6.1% decrease in net market worth compared to 2015, but a 0.7% increase in units sold. The anime video market in particular saw a 15.8% decrease from 2015 to 2016. The JVA's research includes sales from purchases by individuals, rental stores, and businesses, as well as bonus DVDs and Blu-ray Discs bundled with magazines or manga volumes.

Source: Animation Business Journal (Tadashi Sudo)