C93: The Corporate Booths Reveal How Anime is Now Mainstream

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"Comiket began with the grassroots fan activities of the 1970s, but the days
without corporate presence are now long gone. I'm sure that there are some people
who bemoan Comiket's lack of purity these days, but it's well worth thinking about
the changing nature of corporatism and how that shapes modern anime culture. Look
no further than the corporate booths at Winter Comiket 2017 (C93) to get a sense
of the changing times.

Anime has become mainstream in Japan. It's not merely the case that ads for anime
merchandise can be seen everywhere in Tokyo. Companies have realized that anime
fans have purchasing power that can be exploited beyond anime goods. This is
reflected in the kinds of goods you can buy these days, many of which can serve a
practical purpose (like mugs and clear files) or function as chic fashion items
(glasses, jewelry, etc.)."

See:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2018-01-03/c93-the-corporate-booths-reveal-how-anime-is-now-mainstream/.125919

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It’s Time To Stop Acting Like Nobody Watches Anime:

"Despite the genre’s overwhelming popularity, people act as if anime is still a
niche interest. When celebrities like Kim Kardashian or Michael B. Jordan say
that they’re fans, or Britney Spears posts pictures of her son’s Dragon Ball Z
fanart on Instagram, fellow anime-enjoyers are shocked. Anime has actually been
mainstream for a couple of decades now.

There was a time when anime was obscure in the west, only available on copied
VHS tapes passed among ultra fans. In 1999, that would change when Cartoon
Network picked up the rights for Dragon Ball Z for a new block of programing
called Toonami. Dragon Ball Z had previously been broadcast on a few local UPN
stations across the United States, but this was a nationally available cable
network and not a local channel, and given the chance to shine the show was
overwhelmingly popular. In October of 2000, TimeWarner would write in a press
release that the show was a ratings driver for the network.

At the same time, children and teenagers were enraptured by the likes of Sailor
Moon, which also aired on Toonami, and Pokémon, the companion show to the video
game airing on the WB. “We were working in a bubble until people started writing
about the success of Dragon Ball Z, because that was right around when Pokémon
blew up,” Toonami producer Jason DeMarco said in an oral history of Toonami for
Complex. “It was really weird to suddenly have the Wall Street Journal writing
about Dragon Ball Z. … we didn’t understand that it was making cultural impact
until we would occasionally speak at a high school and half of the kids in the
room were like, ‘Oh man, I love Toonami.’”"

See:

https://kotaku.com/it-s-time-to-stop-acting-like-nobody-watches-anime-1823713450